04 Jun 2013

The days when businessmen in the construction industry used mobilisation funds to purchase top of the range luxury vehicles which had no relevance to the project are coming to an end.

That is a result of the signing of the code of conduct for contractors by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo in March to blacklist any contractor found to have flouted the code. 

Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB)’s public relations and public education manager, Ms Ditapole Chibua-Tsheboeng said this in an interview on the sidelines of the just ended BOOCIM Northern Trade Fair in Francistown on June 1.

Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng explained that the code of conduct was introduced following evidence of collusion, bid rigging, multiple bidding, compromised quality of projects and misuse of mobilisation funds for luxurious items which had no bearing on the delivery of the project.

She noted that the status quo led to delays in the completion of projects, resulting in cost overruns which cost the economy a lot of money and denied Batswana the necessary services which they needed in their daily lives.

Consequently, the PPADB entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Competition Authority to bring corrupt officials in the construction industry to book. However, she added that they currently did not have hard evidence on the extent of bid collusion or fronting and that no contractor had been suspended so far.

“As PPADB we don’t want to find ourselves suspending people for bid rigging or fronting, but rather want them to comply and deliver projects on time at less costs to the government,” she asserted.

The code of conduct, she maintained, was developed in conjunction with all stakeholders such as BOCCIM, contractor’s association and law enforcement agencies. “The stakeholders contributed to this code after a series of workshops conducted, by PPADB.”

Furthermore, she said the code of conduct was part of PPADB’s reform process aimed at making procurement processes clean. She added that perceptions of bid rigging and fronting needed to be cleared so that contractors could have confidence in the entity.

Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng pointed out that they were engaged in capacity building, stakeholder engagement and training of ministries as part of their efforts to be transparent with tenders and bring to an end abuse of direct appointments which was used to cover up poor planning.

She also explained that the code made it mandatory for contractors not to submit false information to the board in order to influence the decision of the board to register such a contractor in the register of contractors.

Contractors were also advised not to submit false information during the tendering process in order to deceive the board, a procuring entity or clients into believing that they had capabilities and capacities to perform contracts.

“It also does not allow the overvaluing of the contractor’s assets as well as overcharging of professional fees by the contractor,” she said. Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng stated that contractors found to have contravened the code of conduct ran the risk of being de-listed.

The PPADB Act, she said, stipulated that contractors who did not comply with the code of conduct shall be suspended by the board from the register of contractors for a determined period.

“Where the defaulting shareholders, directors and senior officers of the suspended contractor join another in key operational positions, that contractor shall be debarred from bidding for new tenders until the period of suspension has lapsed,” she said. ENDS