NPA Refutes Flawed Bid-Says No Shady Deal in Awarding Contract

Monrovia – The National Port Authority has refuted accusation on a local radio station that it illegally awarded a construction contract to a company for construction works at the Freeport of Monrovia.

NPA in April this year awarded a “no objection” bid to ADI Contractors Inc. for the construction of rigid pavement, streetlights, sidewalks and drainage at the Freeport of Monrovia but in August saw it decision challenged by Mande Construction Company at the complaints, Appeals and Review Panel (CARP) of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC).  Mande was one of the 14 companies that bided for the construction works at the Freeport.

The CARP ruled in favor of NPA in an August 25, 2016 ruling on the matter. The ruling read: “Wherefore and in the view of the facts and pursuant to laws cited supra, it is the judgment of the Complaints, Appeals and Review Panel (CARP), Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) of the Republic of Liberia that the National Port Authority (NPA) acted in the confines of the laws consistent with the sections of the amended and restated Public Procurement and Concessions Act, 2010 as well as requirements of the Standard Bidding Document issued to bidders for the construction of rigid pavement, streetlights, sidewalks and drainages in the Freeport of Monrovia.”

The CARP backed NPA for not informing Mande Construction Company but some folks have lambasted the NPA over its decision amid the approval of the PPCC.

“In recent times, ­­ for past two weeks, to the dismay of the NPA management and against the interest of the Liberian people, a media entity has elected to ignore the tenets of responsible journalism and engaged in spewing diabolical lies, character assassination and outright yellow journalism, by misinforming the Liberian public about events surrounding the award of a legitimate duly processed contract to ADI Contractors for the construction…in the Freeport of Monrovia,” charged Malcolm Scott, NPA spokesman told the Bumper Show on ELBC Tuesday, in reference to Hott FM.

Scott said NPA was in no shady deal in awarding the contract to ADI, adding that both the NPA and the PPCC have exchanged communications—copies of which FrontPage Africa has seen—over the deal.

“The NPA management is striving to address a road issue that has been left unattended for over three decades, lingering on the brink of major catastrophic event for a major liability, and all it gets is…lies and falsehood about a hardworking management team,” Scott told the show.

With works in ports across the country a major component of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Agenda for Transformation, NPA has embarked upon a series of other development initiatives, including the purchase of marine crafts and handling equipment that cost millions of dollars under the terms of the Kuwaiti Fund, said Scott.