BPP Bars 10 Firms

THE Bureau of Public Procurement has announced the debarment of 10 contractors. It may be the first in moves to sanitise the procurement process which is bedevilled by complications that negate transparency. The main objective of the cleansing is to curb alleged corrupt practices.
Some date back to year 2000. The affected companies are:
· Scientific Energy and Environmental Management System, Lagos, June 17, 2013 - June 17, 2015
· SNC Lavalin Lagos, May 7, 2013 - April 17, 2023
·Sego Ventures, Lagos, June 3, 2011 - August 1, 2013
· Gurpreet Singh Malik, Lagos
· Kamal Sharda, Lagos
· Sharda Impex (U.K), Lagos
· Shereena Agriculture Ltd, Kano
· Vikram Deepak Gursahaney, Lagos, all permanently debarred since February 11, 2000
·   Karitex..Ltd permanently debarred since February 24, 2000
· Contransimex Nigeria Ltd barred May 30, 2012 - May 29, 2014

Emeka Ezeh, Director-General of BPP, said, “The proposed debarment procedure is one of the mechanisms developed by the bureau, to punish procurement related corrupt activities and inculcate the required discipline in Nigeria’s public procurement system.”

We support the BPP moves, but there is need for more transparency, including stating the specific offences the companies committed. BPP has to develop its capacities to be in charge of its decisions on debarment.

BPP’s dependence on foreign organisations like the World Bank denies it the independence the process requires.  Reports from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank Group prompted the ban. Nigeria’s interests are not necessarily the same with those organisations. BPP does not have the details of those decisions most of which were made three years before its establishment in 2007.

“If you violate any provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, if one offers bribe and generally misrepresents facts and lies about its capability, with a view to changing the outcome of the procurement process, one is liable to sanctions,” Ezeh advised.

More importantly, BPP cannot succeed if it does not punish officials who contractors compromise. The procurement process, to improve compliance, should not punish contractors and leave out government officials and politicians who ingeniously aid the abuses.

Until this vital aspect of the procurement process is tackled, when companies are debarred, they would re-group under new names, new directors, and still link up with their BPP contacts who have the insider information compromising companies depend on for success in procurements. We consider it apposite that both givers and takers of bribes are punished. Determent could be more effective than debarment.

BPP has more work to do if it is to contain the dynamism of abuses in the procurement process. It has the additional important task of being thorough without creating more delays in the execution of projects.