‘Lowest bidder’ law under review
Stakeholders have recommended a review of the procurement law that preferred the least bidder, saying it has led to stalling of projects after it emerged that most successful bidders lack capacity.
This is one of the resolutions stakeholders made during a three-day meeting on Agri-Energy Delivery Lab which was organised by the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) and was closed on Friday in Lilongwe.
In an interview at the end of the meeting, PDU director of agro-industrialisation Enwell Kadango said stakeholders observed that the least based evaluation has proven to be flawed as some contractors are unable to deliver due to lack of capacity.
He said: “Obviously, what contractors do as they do the bidding is to peg it at the lower price so that they stand a chance to win.
“So, what we have looked at is to agree with the authorities on how to change the model so that the bidder who has won has the capacity and has bid the right value.”
Kadango added that when a tender is being done, the cost is already known, hence there is now a need to look at the real evaluation based on cost.
He said: “You already know that this project will cost K10 million, but the bidder says they can do it at K4 million and you know that it is not realistic. Although we have been awarding that before, but now we want to look at the real evaluation basing it on the cost.”
In her remarks, Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet Janet Banda said the Agri-Energy Delivery laboratories have been instrumental in bringing solutions to challenges surrounding the generation of, and access to energy.
She said the Reserve Bank of Malawi has been responsive on the forex issues affecting procurement while Raiply has also responded well on the issue of pole supply.
Banda, who is also head of the PDU, said: “The role of the Presidential Delivery Unit is to unlock bottlenecks affecting flagship projects. There are quite a few challenges which, within the framework of deliverology, have prompted the PDU to call for a number of problem solving meetings to take place on Monday March 11 2024.”
According to Banda, other key areas on which the Agri-Energy Delivery labs have unlocked major challenges include Mpatamanga Project, where it has been observed that the relevant law should be amended to allow participation of the Energy Generating Company in the project company as well as the need to increase electricity access to 50 percent of the population by 2030.
