PHOTO: NEC Chair Davidetta Browne-Lansanah
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The bidding for the company that will produce biometric voters’ registration identification cards for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections suffers setback as the Public Procurement and Concession Commission has rejected the second bid conducted by the National Elections Commission.
NEC Chairperson, David-Etta Brown-Lansanah has disclosed that the commission’s board of commissioners is expected to shortly review the letter from the PPCC and make a decision on a way forward.
Madam Brown-Lansanah made the disclosure at a major press conference held at the NEC headquarters in Monrovia Tuesday.
The NEC Chairperson explained that following the review of the PPCC’s letter a decision on the way forward will be made and the PPCC will be informed on the way forward.
According to her, the commission has not made any selection of a company to produce the biometric voters’ identification cards as it is reported in some media institutions.
The NEC chairperson explained that the evaluation panel by a unanimous vote, voted the joint venture of EKEMP/INITS/Palm as the most responsive bidder and on August 26, 2022, submitted its report and recommendation to the procurement committee of the NEC, which comprising five members.
Madam Lansanah said: “the original report shows, among others, that only Electoral Services International (ESI), the joint venture of Professional Services Inc./HID Global, and the joint venture of EKEMP/INITS/Palm met the pre-finance requirement
“On August 31, 2022,” she went on, “the NEC wrote the PPCC a bidder-specific letter, requesting a ‘letter of no objection’ to award the contract to Ekemp/Inits/Palm as the most responsive bidder.”
“The NEC did not, and has not awarded any contract to the recommended bidder or to any other bidders in this matter,” she said; adding: “the original report shows that only Ekemp/Inits/Palm and ESI made it to the final stage of the evaluation.”
“After several written exchanges between the PPCC and the NEC,” She explained, “the PPCC requested a redo of the bidders’ presentations on ground that the previous demonstrations were not video-recorded.”
“Aware that no provision of the Procurement Act requires presentations before evaluation panel to be video-recorded, the NEC asked the PPCC to cite the specific provision of the Act that states that such presentations must be video-recorded.”
The PPCC failed to cite any such provision,and rested on the general claim of ensuring fairness to all bidders, even though no bidder had filed any complaint.
“In furtherance of its request for a re-demonstration,” Madam Lansanah indicated, “the PPCC on September 27, 2022 sent the NEC a letter in which it stated the purpose of the requirement to submit statement of financial position of companies is to ascertain as to whether the bidder actually has the capacity to pre finance as declared.”
The PPCC also said “ NEC should in its re-evaluation ascertain entities financial capacities through the facts of their financial statements submitted.”
“Applying the above quoted standard from the PPCC, the supplementary report shows that only Laxton Group and the joint venture of Ekemp/INITS/Palm met the pre-finance requirement.”
“By its very standard, the PPCC eliminated three of the five bidders.
According to her, this biometric voter registration project is worth almost twelve million United States Dollars (US$12,000,000.00).
The comparative audited income statements of each of the bidders show that only Ekemp/INITS/Palm and Laxton have implemented a project worth this amount over the last two years.
“However, Laxton failed to provide audited financial statements for the immediate past year (2021), which is a requirement in the standard bidding documents.”
“ Laxton only provided statements for the fiscal years 2020 and 2019 and did not provide audited financial statements.”
“Moreover, Laxton expressed a condition regarding its ability to pre-finance.”
“Electoral Services International revenue for 2021 is US$3,888,285 and US$367,248 for 2020.”
She pointed out that Waymark and Mwetana joint audited financial statements show that the project it has completed over the last two fiscal years is US$4,210,003.25 for 2021 and US$2,352,663.49 for 2020.
“Both companies (ESI and Waymark/Mwetana) significantly fall short in terms of the implementation of the NEC biometric project as reflected in their revenue positions.”
“PSI/HID Global on the other hand did not submit audited financial statements regarding any partner to the said joint venture.”
The NEC Chairperson made it clear that the PPCC’s request to a re-demonstration could not have been a rejection of the NEC’s August 31, 2022 for a letter of no objection.
“If this were so, the process would have ended at that time, as the PPCC cannot by its interim statements limit one bidder at the same time request additional information from all bidders in form of a re-demonstration exercise.”
According to her, the PPCC, after rejecting the NEC’s bidder-specific request for a letter of on objection, stated requested the NEC to “select a company” from the remaining bidders.
“Assuming but without agreeing that the PPCC had authority to ‘order’ a procuring entity to make a selection after it has denied that entity’s bidder-specific request for no objection, a neutral and detached review of the bidders’ proposals, the original and supplementary reports will show that no bidder met all of the requirements stipulated in the standard bidding documents; and that only two bidders met the pre-finance standard set in the PPCC’s September 27, 2022.