Dear Editor,
Annual security contract is a negative bugbear to good services and security services. I write on the above as an experienced tendering company. The constant tendering for security service contracts and other service-oriented contracts is immensely time-consuming, in the opinion of the undersigned, who is extremely experienced.
I am therefore asking the Government and ‘the system’ in place that is responsible for the annual security contract to consider changing it to at least biennial tendering.
Knowing that one can lose a contract when awarded, regardless of its magnitude, is a serious deterrent to security services investing the maximum in an area, especially in the out-of-Georgetown security contract.
If a company wins a security contract or other service contract, and that company needs to acquire more or better equipment, inclusive of vehicles, that company would have a tendency to not want to make that extra investment, knowing that they could lose the contract after a year of service.
Security personnel, in our case, are also very seriously affected, as they have to move from one security service to another within a short period of time, having just learned the ‘modus operandi’ of the one company that just acquired the contract. Before they could breathe and settle in with the new logistics and mechanism, the contract comes to an end and another company is awarded the contract.
Things of this kind seriously disrupt employees, their lives, their families and their future, as there are very few tendering security companies that pay the people’s NIS and ‘pay as you earn’ (PAYE) taxes, and also many which specialise in the theft of VAT (Value Added Tax).
Therefore, this short missive to catch the attention of the authorities is meant to ‘open the eyes’ to the reality of situations. Extending these security contracts from one year to two or three years would create less heartache for the NPTAB, the Ministries involved, and even the security guards and the contracted agencies.
Sincerely,
Roshan Khan
