Local contractors want bidding conditions relaxed

Local construction companies have called on government to relax current stringent rules to ease acquisition of public contracts. This they say would promote small and medium size companies in the sector and prevent some of their managers from going to jail for using fake certificates and documents in bid files.

The contractors, grouped under four associations were pleading with government in a meeting with Public Works Minister, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, February 10, in Yaounde.

The contractors and managers of companies involved in road construction and maintenance rained an avalanche of complaints and suggestions on the minister after a series of subtle presentations from the minister and representative of each association- association of public works SMEs, public works engineers, geotechnical studies laboratories and association of road maintenance works in Cameroon.

After the minister’s remarks on the importance of small and medium size companies to the emergence of Cameroon, particularly in the construction sector, Hamadou Abba took the floor. Before airing his mind, he posited that he hoped the meeting is like a family meeting after which participants will not be sanctioned for putting bitter truths on the table.

Abba who is the managing director of Ste An’andal Sarl, stated vehemently that if the minister were to jail contractors who submit fake documents for bids, tenders were to be sued as the minister announced recently, he picked out one call for tenders which is in progress.

The contractor stated that no company in Cameroon, not even the government civil engineering equipment pools, LABOGENIE and MATGENIE could have machinery with the specificities required. He also said the technical expertise is lacking. “Even tractafric which is the supplier of construction works equipment in the CEMAC region had to provide their own experts to use certain machines in Equatorial Guinea. It is too costly” he said.

Many others who took the floor simply corroborated what Abba said and urged the minister to withdraw the Call for Tenders for that particular project, revise it and launch it anew. They held that companies which have already submitted bid documents must have submitted fake documents and that their managers could be taken to the judicial police as the minister had warned.

Other contractors suggested that henceforth, whenever a company declares ownership of equipment, they should be obliged to present them to government before contracts are awarded.

As for required skills, Djoumessi was reminded that companies need to begin from somewhere. He was told that the current dispensation require a company to submit falsified documents before getting its first job, as government always insists on a 10-year experience in the field. “Where would the experience come from”, one of them asked rhetorically.

The recurrent problem that was brought up by every speaker was that of delayed payment. Some contractors said they had piles of documents and unpaid bills which date as far back as 2011.

“We are losing trust in the eyes of banks. Some companies have gone bankrupt. Government won’t even pay first installments for projects and they expect us to complete contracts.” some of them told the public works minister.

Seemingly overwhelmed by complaints, the minister suggested participants should rather propose solutions. He said measures have already been put in place to speed up payments for road works; the recent upgrade of the national road fund to a second generation road fund with financial autonomy.

Yet more problems were presented. Contractors complained there is lack of follow up and keen attention on the part of the minister’s collaborators.

“When control teams tell a company, it will be suspended, the company is suspended two days later. When companies present problems, it takes government forever to redress their situation” one participant said.

Some participants like Dieunedort Souffo, complained that after an earlier meeting with officials of the ministry, they unanimously took decisions regarding sanctions and withdrawal of contracts. “The name of my company was not among companies to be sanctioned. But featured in the final list, I saw in the press. Your secretary must have made a mistake because we are currently on the field and work is in progress.”

Companies sanctioned

A January 18-22 meeting between contractors and the ministry ended with the sanctioning of companies which could not meet projects execution deadlines.

All government contracts signed with Njimi Sarl, Africa Global Solution and Group Pani were terminated while those with 16 other companies were put in the process of being terminated-Aba Boukar Chetima, Ally Hibrahim, Alcator, Damico, EBM, FN Engineering, NB SERA, SOCOTREX TP Sarl, Motase and Sons Company Ltd, Swin Company Ltd, TE TALCOM, TECH, TRABES,, NEO TP Sarl, MGBAGTOU Enterprise and the PTS Construction/MISEP and Bofas ventures.

Some contracts were put under scrutiny while other companies were given a period of time to complete their contracts which amounted to about 18.

Meanwhile the major cry of most contractors remain the quota government allocates for local companies; 30% for every contract. They urged government to emulate Chad where local companies are the main holders of construction projects while foreign companies are sub-contracted.

In Cameroon, foreign companies are awarded contracts with clauses to sub-contract parts to local contractors. “Companies from some countries whose names I will not mention, like to work solo. They will tell you their contract had no clause on subcontracting”, a local contractor fumed during Wednesday’s meeting, revealing that the company constructed the Mfoundi draining canal in Yaounde( the project was executed by French company, Razel and China’s Anhui Shuian Constructions Group.