DCEC probes P30 million Botswana Oil tender
Innocent Selatlhwa | Friday August 5, 2016 14:51
The DCEC investigations are said to have so far found some irregularities in the tender award. “The tender is smelly because the public company, Botswana Oil, was not transparent when they awarded the tender. They refused to disclose information to one of the bidders saying they do not comply with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) regulations,” said one of the sources close to the matter.
Botswana Oil Limited is responsible for the supply of fuel for the country and also for the government reserves. It is managing the storage facilities in the country. According to sources, Botswana Oil issued the tender for the expansion of the Francistown Government Petroleum Project [Tender No. BOL/2015-16-07], which initially closed in November 2015. Companies submitted but the tender was cancelled as most of the bidders failed at compliance and technical stages.
It was re-issued again and the new deadline was in March 2016. “Botswana Oil invited companies that had participated in the initial tender but not all of them,” said the source.
One such companies was G4 Consulting Engineers, which had the best overall score in the first bid. But G4 Consulting Engineers’ score was under the threshold of 75% mark.
“They were disqualified at the initial stage and Botswana Oil refused to disclose the information why G4 Consulting was disqualified.”
In April 2016 the company then filed an urgent application [Case No. UAHGB-000084-16] before Justice Leatile Dambe. The judge dismissed the application with costs and in the order Dambe said reasons would follow.
Reached for comment one of the G4 Consulting Engineers directors, Botsile Gubago refused to comment and said the matter was private. “This is a private matter. I have no comment to make to the press,” said Gubago.
G4 consulting lawyer Omphemetse Motumise also refused to comment. “We cannot comment because as far as our client is concerned, the matter is over,” said Motumise.
Botswana Oil Chief Executive Officer Willie Mokgatle says the investigations have been completed and the DCEC found that the tender award was clean. “We had one of the bidders take the matter to court citing irregularities in the tender award, the case was dismissed.
The DCEC then came to investigate and they have since concluded without finding any irregularity,” he said.
For their part the DCEC also refused to comment on the issue. “In response, we are unable to make public pronouncements on DCEC investigations as per Section 44 of the Corruction and Economic Crime Act (CECA) of 1994,” said the DCEC spokesperson Nlayidzi Gambule.