The Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency has barred Promising International Trading Co. Dmcc – a major supplier of wheat to the Ethiopian market – from participating in any bidding process in the country with the decision coming into effect for the coming one year, The Reporter has learnt.
The decision which involves a 1.39 billion birr contract to supply 200,000 metric tons of wheat was made by the Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency; a regulatory body mandated to oversee the country’s public procurements.
The latest verdict from the Agency was passed after the submission of complaints by the tendering public entity; the Public Procurement and Property Disposal Service (PPPDS).
It was back in June, 2018 that Promising won the contract to supply the 200,000 metric tons of wheat. During this bid process, Promising agreed to supply the wheat and later failed to do so. Three months after Promising was asked to supply the wheat; entity that issued the tender, in dismay, retendered the purchase.
At the time, Promising attributed its reluctance to supply the wheat to the contract offered by the Service regarding freight prices dragging the supply behind. Mainly, the company claimed that Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise (ESLSE) came up with a new freight price which was not mentioned during the financial opening of the bid, Promising’s representatives told The Reporter a couple of months ago.
However, in a letter sent to The Reporter by ESLSE, the claims by Promising were said to be unfounded.
Following this, the Service brought the issue to the attention of the Agency where the Service accused Promising for not respecting its contractual obligations of supplying the wheat.
At the time, in addition to confiscating a bid bond worth USD 18,000; the PPPDS asked the Agency to penalize Promising.
Upon the appeal from the procuring entity, the Agency, after looking into the matter, finally made its verdict. “We now know that Promising will not be allowed to participate in any bid process,” Yigezu Daba, general director of the Service told The Reporter.
Nevertheless, still, Promising will supply 200,000 metric tons of wheat with 1.56 billion birr in October, 2018. It is to be recalled that the Service after the failure to supply the wheat, it has decided to retender the bid in September, 2018.
In this regard, Promising has managed to give the winning price and finally inked a deal. It is to be recalled that the government would have saved a minimum of 175 million birr, if it had finalized the tender process back in June.
