P400 million Safer City Police tender sabotage
The Safer City expansion project of the Botswana Police is entangled in endless controversies the Botswana Guardian has established.
Initially, the Botswana Police requested that the project should be executed by direct appointment at P365 million, however, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPABD) made a contrary decision.
Thereafter, the Botswana Police floated an Open International Tender for the Supply, Delivery, Installation, Confirmation and Commissioning of Additional Cameras and LTE System to the Existing Safer City Solution for the Botswana Police Service- Tender No SERV 5/2/1 (II). The PPABD cancelled this open tender, on grounds of irregularities in the tender document floated by Botswana Police.
From the documents availed to Botswana Guardian, it is established that the Tender No: SERV 5/2/1 (II)) comprised the supply and implementation of a 4G LTE system in Gaborone and Francistown, the supply of UAV drones, and training.
The Botswana Police Service floated several tenders concurrently. These tenders were DJS/MTC/POL 010/2021-2022, a tender for the supply and delivery of Safer City Cameras for Botswana Police Service Safer City Solution; DJS/MTC/POL 012/2021-2022 a tender for acquisition of Way-leave and Servitudes for Botswana Police Services Safer City Solution; DJS/MTC/POL 017/2021-2022 a tender for refurbishment of Police Headquarters
Server Room and Command and Control Centres in Gaborone and Francistown, DJS/MTC/POL 018/2021-2022; a tender for Fabrication, Supply, Delivery and Installation of Electrical Meter Boxes for Botswana Police Safer City Solution; DJS/MTC/POL 016/2021-2022 a tender for the Fabrication, Supply and Delivery and Installation of Camera Poles for Botswana Police Safer City Solution; and DJS/MTC/POL/013/2021-2022 Tender for the supply and delivery of ICT Equipment to the Botswana Police Safer City Solution.
Information availed to Botswana Guardian shows that a total of 94 companies bid for all the six tenders. Information reaching the publication is that the Botswana Police cancelled all these six tenders and consolidated them into one tender - “A Tender for the Supply and Delivery Installation Confirmation and Commissioning of Additional Cameras to Existing Safer City Solution for the Botswana Police Service DS/POL/017/2022-2023/SERV”.
The Botswana Police Service made the consolidated tender DS/POL/017/2022-2023/SERV to be a selective tender, inviting merely nine companies. A selective tender is where only certain selected or handpicked companies are invited for the tender. What further aggravated the situation was that the 94 companies that bid for the six cancelled tenders were not invited for the selective tender.
The nine companies that were invited for the selective tender had bid for a different tender SERV 5/2/1 (II) for the LTE and UAV system. The uninvited 94 companies that had bid for the cancelled tenders feel cheated and they are allegedly vehemently dissatisfied with the situation.
A company that bid for one of the cancelled tenders (tender for the supply of meter boxes) lamented:
"We spent money preparing the tenders and the tender was cancelled. We were told the project has been put aside. Then later, we heard some other companies have been called to bid for the very same tender and we were not called, in fact those companies came to us to get quotations, which makes us wonder what’s going on”. Another company that bid for one of the cancelled tenders expressed profound dissatisfaction noting that this is very unfair."
Why was the cancellation done in the first place? So, the cancellation was to take us out from the tender?” quizzed one of the local contractors that bid for the cancelled tenders. A reliable source from the Botswana Police revealed that there have been controversies and questions as to the modalities for the selection of companies invited for the selective tender. The source also confirmed that the companies invited for the selective tender are mostly companies that bid for the LTE tender SERV 5/2/1(II).
However, the source added that “the scope of work involved in DS/POL/017/2022-2023/SERV (supply and delivery of cameras, supply and delivery of meter boxes, supply and delivery of camera poles, acquisition of Wayleave and Servitudes, Refurbishment of Police Headquarters Server Room and Command and Control Centers in Gaborone and Francistown, supply and delivery of ICT Equipment) was not part of SERV 5/2/1(II)."
This source emphasised that the two tenders are distinct from one another. Botswana Guardian investigations have established that the consolidated selective tender received only four bids. The tender is worth P400 million. Botswana Police Public Relations Department had not responded to a questionnaire sent to them at the time of going to print.