Competition Commission lifts Hukuntsi tender suspension
Isaac Pinielo | Friday September 26, 2014 15:19
The tender, which was awarded to K-Build Hardware and Ambica Trading, was suspended to allow the body to complete its investigations, following allegations of bid rigging. The authority alleged that companies that won the tender colluded in their application. While only one tender was released, both companies won it, which implored the commission to suspend it.
According to the papers brought before the commission, the matter had to be addressed urgently to avoid irreparable damage to the Hukuntsi District council.
This week Competition Authority director of legal and enforcement, Duncan Morotsi, stated that the body had completed investigations on the matter.
“Since we have closed our investigations, it is now up to us to decide on the way forward with regard to the case,” Morotsi told the commission.
A panel of four commissioners including Selinah Peters, Tendekani Malebeswa, Gaylard Kombani and professor Jay Salkins unanimously ruled that the rule nisi that was earlier granted should be discharged.
Although the competition watchdog would not reveal what sort of bid rigging occurred, it stated that preliminary inquiries had established that there were evident contraventions of the Competition Act and other improprieties in the award of the tender.
Following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Competition Authority, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, (DCEC) and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) in November 2011, the three bodies have been on a mission to combat bid-rigging.
It is understood that bid rigging, also known as collusive tendering, has the biggest potential to cause harm in public procurement, which is usually the major driver of many economies.
There are four main types of bid rigging: bid suppression, complementary bidding, bid rotation and sub-contracting. The most common is complementary bidding in which some companies submit phantom bids they know the client will reject based on unacceptable terms or high prices, in order to front legitimate bidding while ensuring that a pre-arranged bidder wins.
The Competition Commission is an adjudicative body for matters that fall under the Competition Act, as well as the governing body of the Competition Authority. It is also the full-time secretariat, dealing with day-to-day operations, which include conducting investigations and other matters included in the Act.