The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board has partly upheld a challenge to a tender issued by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for its Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS).
The case arose from a tender for the supply, installation, testing and maintenance of the system, including related hardware and accessories. Galadriel Investments Limited challenged several requirements contained in the tender documents.
The company raised concerns about the technical evaluation criteria, bidders’ qualifications and experience, compatibility with IEBC’s existing infrastructure, physical submission of bids, currency conversion and the dispute-resolution framework.
In its determination, the Board found shortcomings in some of the technical evaluation provisions, noting that they did not clearly explain how compliance would be assessed or how marks would be allocated.
It also faulted the tender document for failing to clearly identify the international arbitration framework that would apply to disputes involving an international supplier, saying this created uncertainty for prospective bidders.
However, the Board rejected claims that IEBC had tailored the qualification and experience requirements to favour MIRU Systems Limited.
It found that Galadriel Investments had not demonstrated that the requirements were excessive, restrictive or unrelated to the procurement.
The Board also dismissed the challenge to physical submission of bids, noting that the tender involved demonstrations and samples that could reasonably require physical presentation.
On compatibility, the Board found that the tender provided for integration with IEBC’s existing biometric voter registration database and infrastructure, as well as migration and transition of data.
Additional shortcomings were identified in provisions concerning Incoterms and the Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy.
The Board consequently partly allowed Galadriel Investments’ Request for Review and directed IEBC to correct and amend the affected provisions.
IEBC must thereafter issue and publish a new compliant tender document and give prospective bidders at least seven days to consider the changes before submitting their bids.
The Board Secretary was directed to forward the decision to the PPRA Director-General for information and monitoring.
