So what is going to be done about this???????????
Are the people responsible for this illegal contract going to be held accountable?
😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Extension of TICTS contract null - CAG
2008-04-12 10:46:43
By Lydia Shekighenda, Dodoma
Extension of a lease contract to Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS)�the Dar port sole private operator�was illegally executed, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Lodovick Utouh, said yesterday.
He was unveiling his report for the fiscal year that ended on June 30 last year at a news conference yesterday in Dodoma.
He said there was gross violation of the 2004 Public Procurement Act in the whole process of extending the lease pact from ten to 15 years in 2005, and later on to 25 years.
``Extension of contract is contrary to the Public Procurement Act of 2004. The law does not allow the agreement to be altered or amended in that manner,`` said Utouh.
The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) signed the 10-year lease contract with TICTS in May 2000. Towards the end of 2005, the contract was extended to 15 years, and was further extended to 25 years.
The controversial extension of lease contract and the dismal performance of TICTS have triggered public debate in recent months.
The inefficiency at Dar port container terminal has led to massive congestion as pile up of cargo reached crisis levels.
In January this year, Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure challenged the government to explain why it extended a contract with the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services to 25 years before the end of an initial agreement.
TICTS was originally contracted to offer container services at the Dar es Salaam port for 10 years but before the expiry of the agreed time, the government extended the lease to 25 years.
The CAG said the contract extension process was in breach of Section 69 (1) of the Public Procurement Act of 2004, which states that a procurement contract shall not be altered or amended in any way after it has been signed by both parties, unless such alteration or amendment is to benefit the government or is not disadvantageous to the government.
``This extension is also a breach of a clause of the specific agreement No 9. 1 Amendment of Lease, which requires extensive consultations of all the parties who may be affected by such amendment,`` said Utouh.
The same clause, he said, sets conditions for amendments to the contract, but explicitly rules out amendments to the terms of lease.
``Extension of contract should be considered null and void,`` reads the report.
TICTS contract-extension, according to the CAG, made no reference to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) as required by the law. PPRA is a body charged with ensuring application of fair, competitive, transparent, and non-discriminatory and value of money procurement standards and practices.
``In particular, given that the terms of extension were so unfavourable to the government, the extension was clearly in breach of the PPA-2004,`` said the CAG.
SOURCE: Guardian
http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2008/04/12/112242.html