Consortium responds to public concerns over biometric voter registration system

Accra, Sept. 24, GNA – A Consortium for the Intelligent Card Production Systems (ICPS) at the weekend issued a statement to respond to some public concerns raised on the issue of procurement of biometric voters’ registration system.

The statement, issued by Mr Joseph Kofi Amoako, Director of the Legal Department, ICPS and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said it was to apprise the public on the facts of the matter.

Below is the full text of the statement.

“In light of the recent public statements on the above-mentioned, and to correct certain factual inaccuracies in the public domain on this issue, Intelligent Card Production Systems (ICPS) issues this press release to apprise the general public on the facts of the matter.

In March 2011, the ICPS led a consortium of international companies which was shortlisted and pre-qualified to submit a bid for the Biometric Voter Registration System, after it submitted an Expression of Interest in the project pursuant to an advertisement in the newspapers in February 2011.

Five (5) entities were initially short-listed and prequalified in order of merit (ICPS consortium was 4th in ranking), but subsequently, the Electoral Commission (EC) increased the number of shortlisted and pre-qualified entities to seven (7), which ICPS contends, was in contravention of a mandatory limit of six (6) as set by the Public Procurement Act (Act 663) Section 67.

In the first week of August 2011, the EC commenced its evaluation of the shortlisted companies including the ICPS led consortium. By a letter dated 11th August 2011, the EC informed ICPS that its bid had been disqualified because it was not responsive.

The reason advanced for this was that ICPS, as the leader of the consortium, failed to submit a Certificate of Incorporation with its tender documents, a decision that ICPS contends is not in consonance with sections 58 & 59 of the Procurement Act (Act 663), which is clear, that all documents relating to mandatory Qualification, Eligibility and Responsiveness Criteria, must be clearly stated in the Invitation To Tender (ITT), and “No criterion shall be used that has not been set out in the invitation documents’. ICPS considers its disqualification as unlawful, unfair and arbitrary, as there was no requirement for the said Certificate to be submitted (as required by law), in the Invitation To Tender (ITT).

The ICPS consortium wrote to the EC on 12th August 2011 and rejected the decision of its disqualification and advised the EC, to take a second look at the basis for the disqualification, permit the ICPS consortium’s Technical Proposal to be evaluated, and allow the consortium to partake in the demonstration of the Technical Proposals.

On 15th August 2011, without responding to the ICPS consortium’s protest letter, the EC commenced the second stage of the evaluation process by calling two (2) of the shortlisted companies to demonstrate their Technical Proposal.

The ICPS consortium was compelled to commence legal proceedings against the EC on the morning of 15th August 2011 when the EC started the demonstrations as scheduled at 11am, without having evaluated the ICPS consortium’s Technical Proposal.

The ICPS consortium sought a number of reliefs, including a declaration that the EC’s conduct of the bidding process is illegal and therefore void. It also filed an application for interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from proceeding with the planned demonstration by two (2) bidders of their Technical Proposals for the national biometric voters registration tender, pending the final determination of the action.

On the same day, ICPS further wrote two letters to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), complaining about what it viewed as a breach of the law in the EC’s conduct of the bidding process and applying for an administrative review of the wrongful disqualification and exclusion of its bid from the demonstration.

The EC was served with the application for interlocutory injunction around 11:35am on 15th August 2011 when it had just commenced the demonstration.

The EC, however, proceeded with the said demonstration in spite of service of the court process on it. It was not until the EC was instructed by the PPA to suspend the demonstration for a period of seven (7) days by a letter dated 15th August 2011 that it halted the said demonstration.

The suspension of the demonstration by the PPA indicated to ICPS that the PPA was investigating a case for Administrative Review, as per its mandate under Section 82 of the Public Procurement Act (Act 663).

Consequently, ICPS discontinued the suit against the EC on 19th of August 2011, to allow the PPA’s Administrative Review process to proceed in order to save a lengthy court process.

Having ascertained that ICPS had established a prima facie case, the PPA by a letter dated 22nd August extended the suspension for the entire tender process for a further period of twenty-three (23) working days.

On 23rd August 2011, the PPA issued another letter, commencing a full scale investigation into the matter by demanding relevant documents from the EC to enable it conduct an effective Administrative Review.

Notwithstanding the suspension of the bid process by the PPA, the EC went ahead in contravention of the PPA’s orders for suspension and Administrative Review, and scheduled the morning of 30th August 2011 to resume the demonstration of the Technical Proposals of the two (2) bidders.

On 30th August 2011, the ICPS consortium was therefore compelled to re-institute legal proceedings due to the EC’s disregard of the PPA’s suspension order.

Had the EC complied with the suspension order, ICPS would not have returned to the courts and the PPA’s expedited Administrative Review would have concluded and the contract awarded by now.

The ICPS consortium would like to assure the general public that the institution of legal proceedings against the EC is not an attempt to delay the biometric voter’s registration exercise; neither is ICPS imputing any malicious intent to the EC. The basis of the actions taken by ICPS consortium is to ensure that the rule of law prevails by pointing out grievous errors of law made by the EC that can, and must be corrected expeditiously, and also to exercise its constitutional right to protect its interests in relation to its wrongful exclusion from the bidding process. The aim of the tender is to enable Ghana to select the best biometric system to protect its budding democracy.”