Dear Editor,
As it is known, I am an ‘old head’ in the security industry and in tendering. My experience is enormous, and having been around for a long time in the security industry, business and general commerce, I have seen a lot of things and understand a lot of things.
I find it strange that, upon delivering a tender document sealed and all in the tender box, we are now being stopped from taking a photograph as evidence that the documents are being dropped in the box at so and so time.
After someone’s tender document disappeared from the box ‘as they alleged,’ I instructed my staff that whenever they deliver a document in the box, take a photograph or two.
Why would they at the Ministry stop the taking of photographs? I was made to understand that other representatives of companies were also taking photographs of their deposits. In my opinion, this is great insurance and evidence of depositing the documents. Should the document not be available upon the opening of the box, photographic evidence would be there to prove it was deposited.
I believe that this instruction to stop the photographing of the deposits is not wise, and causes people to become suspicious that there may be some kind of skullduggery being cooked up. I had a case a number of years ago where our entire document disappeared from the box. When I spoke to the then chairman of the Central Tender Board, he doubted that there could be any kind of corruption, deceit or favouritism.
The fact is, that gentleman was a real gentleman, and I know that he would never get himself involved in such despicable activities. There was at that time a fellow who believed that the Government at that time owed him all the Government security contracts. He also had a lot of friends in high places with connections. He was always known to be manipulative, dishonest, tricky, and one who never paid PAYE taxes and NIS was the achieved culprit.
I do not want to lament more on this, but to ask that the Ministry of Finance, which supervises the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), should pass an edict where people have the right to photograph their envelopes being deposited into the tender box. It is a simple request, and as one who has been around for a long time and knows so much, I think I am in the right to be very suspicious of persons, especially if they would stop such a petty thing as taking photographs.
Over to you, Honourable Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.
Sincerely,
Hajji Dr Roshan Khan Snr
