A measure too long overdue

 AT long last, someone is doing something about cutting the red tape that has been the bottleneck in the processing of contract submissions by the Central Supply and Tenders Board (CSTB).

The National was told yesterday that the Government has issued strict instructions to the CSTB for signed contracts to be fixed. 

CSTB secretary Babaga Naime said that would eliminate the loophole used by contractors to bid low and claim huge variations at later stages.

Why has it taken so long for the Government to uncover this anomaly and plug the loophole?

Surely, the CSTB was well aware of the funny games played by contractors over the years but chose to remain ignorant and allow this malpractice to continue for reasons only known to them.

It is astounding that in 99 per cent of the cases, contracts issued to the lowest bidders ended up in huge variation claims during the delivery phases, sometimes halting work progress unnecessarily.

The assumption that the lowest price quoted by a bidder is not necessarily the best price should be a key factor in determining who finally gets the contact. Seemingly, the CSTB gave preference to the lowest bidders who continued to cheat the system with huge variation claims.

The malpractice and cheating by contractors continued undetected for many years until the current Government decided to intervene and install stricter control measures.  

We are told the Government’s tough move on the processes involved in awarding of contracts is part of its plan to speed up the procurement process and make it less cumbersome so that projects are implemented and services are delivered on time as required.

Interestingly, the CSTB is now emphasising on independent professional project managers for all major projects awarded.

Naime said the CSTB did not agree with the same firms being appointed as both project designers and managers. 

It makes sense to have independent inspectors or project managers for every major project.

“CSTB believes this will raise the standard of workmanship among our contractors by having independent project managers as supervisors.”

We agree with Naime’s statement but still wonder why it took so long for the CSTB to realise this.

It is heartening to note that the CSTB has done away with certificates of inexpediency, which are supposed to be used in very specific cases such as national emergencies. 

Undoubtedly, the current CSTB system is cumbersome and time-consuming and has been the bane of genuine bidders and the government departments and authorities sponsoring the contracts.

Just last week, Works Minister Francis Awesa complained about the tedious process that was involved in finalising and awarding four major contracts, worth K270 million, under the new Lae city roads rehabilitation programme, which are being sponsored and supervised by his department.

Awesa revealed that it took the CSTB some months to process the submissions from the three construction companies for the contracts, worth a total of K270 million. 

It would have taken much longer had the Government not intervened and directed the CSTB to reduce the number of conditions and pre-requisites that needed to be satisfied before the awarding of the contracts.

The Government’s move to cut red tape in contract processing by the CSTB will certainly make the system more effective and hasten the implementation of vital government projects.

In particular, the infrastructure sector with a massive budget allocation of K2.7 billion this year will require a much improved CSTB contract processing system to enable the Works Department to fully implement its planned projects and programmes.

The success of the Government’s infrastructure projects, such as the Lae city roads rehabilitation programme, depends on a fast, effective and transparent contract processing system.

The days of malpractice and cheating the system are over and the Government must insist that the CSTB toe the line and administer the system efficiently and diligently.

For too long this vital government agency has been allowed to operate in a vacuum, which created an environment that was conducive to malpractice and cheating by contract bidders and other unscrupulous people.