As SLCB Flouts Procurement Processes… Over Le1.3 B Contract For Note Counting Machines Questioned

By Aruna Momoh Kargbo

The protector of the Sierra Leone public purse, Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) has raised series of questions on the procurement process for the supply of 51 Note Counting Machines contract worth NLe1,348,950 which is equivalent to Le1,348,950,000 in the Old Leones, by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB).
This was revealed by the recently published Audit Report, pointing out the irregularities ranging from discrepancies in dates, conflict of interest among other anomalies.
That minutes of the procurement committee in which the bidding document was approved was not sighted.
“Several discrepancies between the date in which the bidding document was issued by the SLCB (8th May 2023 and recorded on the bid issued register on 8th April 2023),” the report stated.
The report furthered that the evaluation report stated that the bid was submitted on 10th May 2023 at 12:00 noon GMT but that the bid submission register signed by the bidder stated that the bid was submitted on 10th April 2023 at 14:21 GMT.
That the individual evaluation sheets completed by members of the evaluation committee were not sighted and that the evaluation report was not dated by members of the evaluation committee.
“Despite restricted bidding was the approved procurement souring method, bid was only solicited from just one bidder rather than a minimum of five as stipulated in section 42 (2) of the Public Procurement Act, 2016,” the Audit emphasized.
That the declaration of conflict-of-interest form was not completed by members of the procurement committee and technical evaluation committee.
The report also noted that the bidding document was issued for only two days from 8th to 10th May 2023, without any justification for such as shorter protracted period as stipulated in the Public Procurement Act, 2016.