Skipping the Tender Process- Using Pre-Approval Instead
by Dermod Travis,
News that’s guaranteed to cheer the hearts of a small number of B.C. companies is word that they’ve been added to a list of pre-qualified suppliers to the B.C. government.
The lists are intended to offer all the appearances of open and transparent procurement. They can be anything but.
It’s one way to get around the bad optics of sole-sourcing too many public contracts.
You can imagine the minister’s briefing note: “We chose from a long list of well-qualified firms who were put through a rigorous vetting process by the ministry.”
Two wrinkles: what companies are on those lists and what criteria is used to pre-qualify them?
Like a private club, the government is reticent to disclose the names, which makes it difficult to know whether there’s a wee bit of favouritism in compiling them, how other companies stack up and whether B.C. is getting best value for its dollar.
From a B.C. Hydro response to a 2016 freedom of information request: “We are not providing information on secondary sourcing contracts where (BC Hydro) has previously established a list of pre-qualified suppliers or contractors…”
One thing is for sure: keep your membership in good standing and the lists keep on giving and giving.
You’d expect to find pre-qualified lists in the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) for road improvements, potholes and the like.
In 2014/15, MOTI awarded 478 contracts of $10,000 or more worth $322.1 million.
Forty-eight companies took home 163 of the contracts totalling $233.8 million, nearly three quarters of the haul.
Coincidentally, those 48 companies have donated $1.17 million to the B.C. Liberal Party since 2005. One company was awarded 16 contracts worth $7.9 million. They donated $111,000.
The 25 largest contracts – ringing in at more than $168 million – went exclusively to 13 donors who have collectively given more than $250,000.
How many of the 48 are on a pre-qualified list is anyone’s guess. Hush hush.
Six of the 48 companies did pass the hat and found $26,685 for the B.C. NDP, with 90 per cent of it ($23,695) flowing into the party’s coffers over a nine month stretch from September 2012 to May 2013.
Scuttlebutt has it the government wasn’t so amused about those donations post-election. Only one of the six has donated since.
Don’t think donations are intended to influence decision makers? Think again.
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) doesn’t donate “in cash or cash equivalent” to political parties, but it does buy tickets that may have “a fundraising component to them.”
There was likely a smidgen of a fundraising component to the $7,000 they paid for “an evening with Mike de Jong” last year, also one with the $3,500 for golf with Premier Christy Clark last fall and the $5,000 for dinner with Norm Letnick and Clark last November.
Full marks for transparency, though.
OMERS actually put its justification for buying high-priced tickets down in writing: “Participation in the political process may be directly relevant to minimizing risk and achieving investment objectives”
Coincidentally, in 2013, OMERS was seeking the government’s approval of a proposed merger between its LifeLabs Medical Services and B.C. Biomedical Labs.
Notwithstanding then-Health minister Margaret MacDiarmid’s concerns over whether it “could result in a substantial reduction of competition,” the approval came through in lickety-split time, 76-days later.
Everything may be on the up and up in B.C. At least that’s what Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman says.
Last spring Coleman stated: “If you want to donate to a political party, you can donate to a political party. But if you think you’re buying anything, you’re not.”
Martyn Brown, former chief of staff to Premier Gordon Campbell begged to differ: “(Donations) make the government stand up and listen and anybody who pretends otherwise is not telling the truth.”
It certainly doesn’t instill confidence in the government’s procurement efforts when the 2014 core review into Partnerships B.C. noted: “More than half of the contract files reviewed did not contain adequate documentation such as the justification for hiring the successful contractor, the reasons for direct awarding contracts to individuals and small firms or the rates paid.”
Dermod Travis is the executive director of IntegrityBC. www.integritybc.ca
Comments
Interesting, this author tries to come across as all fact, but throws in this line:
“Scuttlebutt has it the government wasn’t so amused about those donations post-election. Only one of the six has donated since.”
That is pure speculation with no basis of fact included in the article.
Here is a simple well know tidbit of information, small business hates the NDP, especially in the construction industry, therefor why would they donate money to the NDP meanwhile they would much prefer to see a Liberal government there for they would obviously donate to them.
“Scuttlebutt has it the government wasn’t so amused about those donations post-election. ”
I stopped reading at this point. I did get a good chuckle out of it though.
Why is this nonsense being passed off as news? It needs to be labelled as an opinion piece, this is not an article.
It is under the “views” category, not “news” category.
It is an opinion piece. Not all that hard to figure out.
Yes, the “in views” part is in what, 3 point font? while “Submitted Article” is the same size font as the opinion piece. Easy to miss unless one squints at it. Besides, articles are supposed to be nonfictional, this is clearly a work of fiction.
A man – this is labeled as ‘ views’, not news.
Sounds just like the Clinton foundation. Maybe Christi has a private server somewhere?
And her TOP SECRET info would be what? Where BC has missile silos and the launch codes? LOL
“The lists are intended to offer all the appearances of open and transparent procurement.”
In his opinion. His ignorance of the tendering process is showing big time.
Not every tom, dick and harry operation is capable of building or providing services for just any project. The intention is to pair up companies with the relevant experience and expertise with the projects being tendered. It helps all parties, both owner and bidder. Bidding on a project costs time and money for the bidder.
This in no way prevents other companies from bidding but the awarding process will be streamlined. If a company not on the list puts in a bid that is signficantly lower it will allow more time to investigate if they are capable of completing the work as they do not have to look at those who have pre-qualifyed.
Pre-qualifying companies is no different than what ICBC does with body shops that meet certain criteria. You can take a vehicle directly to the auto body shop without having to go through the ICBC claim center. Saves time and money and duplication of services.
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