A former Fiji Procurement Office (FPO) staff testified that former acting finance minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum did not seek clarification from the FPO before granting a waiver for tender CTN 153/2011.
Maire Wise said in the High Court in Suva yesterday she was unaware at the time but later discovered that former health minister Dr Neil Sharma had written directly to Mr Sayed-Khaiyum to request a waiver. This was despite the Tender Evaluation Committee having already provided its recommendations for the successful bidders.
She said that for tender CTN 153/2011, which involved three biochemical analysers, the committee recommended only one supplier, Roche Diagnostics.
She noted that Hospital Engineering & Consultancy Ltd (Hospineer) was not recommended for the tender because it failed to meet the requirements.
Ms Wise said after Mr Sayed-Khaiyum had approved the waiver, she was required to issue withdrawal letters to the bidders of tender CTN 153/2011. She explained that this step was mandatory to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability required under the procurement regulations.
As a result of this waiver, Hospineer was awarded the tender. Dr Sharma is accused of intentionally failing to comply with statutory requirements for tenders stipulated under Procurement Regulation 2010 for the MoH tender CTN 153/2011 in favour of the bidder, Hospineer.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum, who was also the attorney-general at the time, is accused of abusing his position by granting a waiver to tender CTN 153/2011 without justification in violation of the Procurement Regulations 2010.
The trial continues on June 8 before Justice Usaia Ratuvili in the High Court in Suva.
