Kaieteur News caught lying again
Written by Wendella Davidson
Friday, 22 July 2011
THE Guyana Government yesterday flayed a Kaieteur News front page article headlined ‘Barber shop’ company gets $300 Million computer contracts’, which, through ‘the language’ used, falsely portrayed an impression that the process was not transparent, and due diligence was not exercised in the award of the contracts concerned. Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and Minister of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh, under whose ministry the contract was awarded, yesterday hosted a news conference at NCN television studios, to make the record “quite clear”.
Minister Baksh expressed regret that even though the processes and procedures leading up to the award of the contract were detailed at the signing ceremony, the media appeared not to have understood.
Both ministers questioned the rationale behind the article. Minister Baksh said he is at a loss to decipher the “ulterior motive” and reason for the “cheap publicity” given in the Kaieteur News article, and Minister Singh pointed to the language used in the article as clear evidence of the author's intent to distort and misrepresent.
And, on linking of the contract to that of one awarded to Fip Motilall, who was awarded a contract to build roads to the Amaila Falls, the Finance Minister said it is an “ulterior and wicked motive of the author” of the article, since the Amaila contract was awarded through a similarly transparent process.
Minister Singh argued that such distortions add credence to the view that the Kaieteur News is the new New Nation, adding that these actions have caused that newspaper to be viewed as the mouth piece of the opposition.
The company in question is a locally-registered company, Digital Technology, which was recently awarded two separate contracts, valued at $70,841,185 and $222,947, 632.
The first is in relation to the enhancement of technical and vocational education and training project funded jointly by the GOG and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the supply, delivery and installation of office equipment for Technical Institutes located in Regions Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) & Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), while the second contract is for the supply and delivery of accessories to the secondary schools computerization project.
Both contracts, Minister Baksh said, attracted four bidders, with Digital Technology submitting the lowest bid in each case.
The tender was subject to a “national competitive bidding process”, which he stated, was followed in all respects, with the Ministry of Education placing advertisements, opening of the tenders at the office of the National Procurement Board (NPB), and subsequent evaluation and review of the bids by a committee appointed by the Board.
The committee then submitted a report, along with its recommendation, to the Board, which, after its own perusal, forwarded a recommendation to Cabinet which gave its “no objection” to the award of the contract.
Minister Baksh alluded to the final paragraph in the article which read, “However, Digital Technology was not subjected to such scrutiny, since its project was outside the scope of the CDB,” nailing this as a lie in the case of one of the contracts.
Minister Baksh, describing the statement by the media house entity as `carte blanche’, said at the signing of the contract, he “was at pains to point out that the CDB reviewed the processes, reviewed the bid documents and pronounced, by way of giving a ‘no objection’, the document which he displayed.
The fact that the CDB gave its `no objection’ is evidence that it is satisfied with the integrity and transparency of the process, the minister posited.
Alluding to the KN article with an accompanying photograph which is the company’s overseas headquarters, Minister Baksh said the Kaieteur newspaper is wrong to say that it is a barber shop.
Minister Baksh said Digital Technology is a registered company in Guyana.
“We are not concerned about operations in the United States and Canada, and Europe and any other country; it is registered and it is a recognized company in Guyana.”
Minister Baksh categorically stated that the contract requirements specify that contract awardee must lodge a 10 per cent security bond and Digital Technology has complied by lodging the sum of $7M and $22M respectively, in relation to the two contracts. This, he said, demonstrates the financial capability of the company, adding that they will have to deliver a quality product complete with specifications as set out in the contract documents before receiving payment.
Additionally, another safeguard as set out in the contract, the minister explained, is “ the computers and accessories will have to be supplied to the Ministry of Education before any payment is made”. The minister further stated that even before this is done, the Ministry of Education will have to be satisfied with the quality of the products before the final payments are made.
These computers, the brand of which is ‘Dell’, and ‘HP’ for the printers, are to be sourced from a reputable company and not any “wishy-washy” one, also that both of the contracts carry a three-year warranty attached, for which the 10 per cent bond will be held to ensure compliance .
The Education Minister reiterated that what is important is that the supplier actually delivers what it is contracted to deliver to the Ministry of Education which will subsequently have its technical personnel assess the quality of the products delivered.
Both Ministers Singh and Baksh have urged Kaieteur News and other media houses to pay greater attention to facts.
Meanwhile, representatives of the KN – at yesterday’s news conference - sought to justify their article by questioning whether due diligence was carried out in the awarding of the contract, but the ministers maintained that, to the best of their knowledge, the integrity of the tender process was intact.
Source: Guyana Chronicle