A fresh bidding process for the construction of the new parliamentary chambers has run into trouble yet again.

A whistle-blower has petitioned the Inspectorate of Government (IG) challenging the preparation of the bidding documents. In a six-page document received by the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Justice Irene Mulyagonja on August 18, the whistle-blower, says the bid review team is composed of incompetent and unqualified persons.<>/p>

A fresh review exercise was ordered by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) in July following the cancellation of an earlier procurement process on grounds of inadequacies in bid documents, irregular change of cost estimates without prior approval of the accounting officer and irregularities in the evaluation process.

PPDA directed Parliament to conduct a fresh tendering process using emergency procedures and engage ministry of Works to undertake a detailed review of the Bills of Quantities (BoQ) to inform the pre-bid cost estimate and assure there is value for money.

It also recommended that ministry of Works conducts a comprehensive review of the bidding documents to ensure the evaluation criteria applied are commensurate to the complexity and value of the works. However, the whistle-blower notes that the review team, which has been meeting at Serena Lake Victoria hotel, Kigo to review the design and bid documents since August 15 was set up with ill motives.

The whistle-blower alleges that the team was aimed at delivering revised or re-tendering documents that do not rectify issues raised by PPDA in the previous exercise. The review team is comprised of three consultant personnel Caleb Tugumisirize, a civil engineer, T. Mugabi, an electrical engineer and C. Mpwabwe, a quantity surveyor. The trio was part of the previous process.

"They are tainted with and responsible for the inadequacies and controversies in the first tender process, each has a conflict of interest in the review exercise, they have no motivation to uncover and rectify the inadequacies", reads part of the complaint sent to the IGG. The whistle-blower further alleges that this team is likely to conceal, maintain and reinforce the scheme that unfairly favoured some bidders in the first process.

He also notes that the architect provided by the consultant, Marvin Ssebugwawo is a non-registered person and unqualified to review and advise on the design. He also notes that the three officials from the Works ministry on the review team are not the most senior, adding that they were assigned without approval of the relevant heads of the ministry.

"Officials from both Parliament and Works ministry involved in the cancelled process and with the technical knowledge of the inadequacies in the documents, were deliberately excluded from participating in the review", further reads the complaint.

Five firms including; Roko Construction Ltd, CRJE (East Africa) Ltd, China Civil Engineering Construction Company, China Complete Plant Import and Export, Seyani Brothers & Co. Ltd and Chinal National Aero-technology International are tussling out for the Shs 200bn tender.