Was Designz Unlimited printing unjustifiably scandalised?

Dear Editor,
Regarding the reports on Local Government Minister giving a company founded by his son a contract, there is no allegation of wrongdoing or corruption. The youngster and the company seem unjustifiably maligned. They should receive the public support for a wrong committed on them. I do not think President Irfaan Ali would tolerate scandals in his administration, and it does not appear any was committed in the award of this contract.
It does not appear that rules on nepotism (preferential treatment) and procedure (bidding) were violated. If the youngster was getting contracts under the previous regime based on his bids, why should they be discontinued now? Because his father is now a Minister, should he and his company be punished? And investigation reveals that Designz Unlimited submitted the lowest bid.
I do not know Minister Dharamlall. I never met him, although I heard of him. Reports on or about him or anyone else must be fair and balanced, not scandalous or motivated by political opponents, or by those who were denied the contract because of overpricing, or because of a tradition of waste that occurred over the previous five years.

Designz Unlimited used to get contracts from the Ministry under the previous regime. The Minister’s son probably disassociated himself from the contract because his father is Minister, so as to avoid any perceived appearance of conflict of interest.
In my studies and teaching of economics and business, a person can find a company and not be its owner, and as such, cannot be held accountable for its activities, including bidding for contracts. Since he is not owner and does not oversee day-to-day operations or bidding on contracts, the son therefore should not have been part of the report.
Whoever sought to scandalise the youngster ought to be ashamed and seek psychological counselling.
Even if a son is a company owner, should he be denied contracts because father is a minister? Then he would never make a living, or run a business, until the father stops being a Minister. Why should a son or daughter or relative be punished for the job of a parent who is a politician? The son is a young adult who runs his own life and is entitled to Government contracts if qualified. However, he should not be favoured or enjoy preferential treatment.
Designz Unlimited received contracts before Dharamlall became Minister. His son should not be victimised. And since the company is not owned by him, it should not be prevented from getting contracts from Government. Design Unlimited is entitled to the contracts if it fulfills all the requirements, and it should be properly paid. money for contracts should not be returned to the Government.
There are no complaints of overpricing or poor quality or delivery time of the job.
What is missing in the report is the number of bids submitted for the contracts, and whether Designz Unlimited was the best qualified in terms of price, efficiency, quality and timeliness.
When I was head of the Leadership Committee of my government institution in New York, I used to seek out at least three bids for a contract. The best one, not necessarily the lowest bid, was selected by my committee for a project, and approved by the Brooklyn schools’ superintendent. I am informed that three bids were offered for the printing job, with Designz submitting $390K, another company $550K, and a third company $695K. Design was the lowest by far, saving the Ministry between $160K and $305K. It seems Minister Dharamlall acted prudently in giving contract to Designz.
If a company feels its bid was better, it should file a complaint and seek compensation.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram