The tender to render police healthcare services over the next three years is being challenged one of the losing bidders, who has asked the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to review it and set it aside, reports Pretoria News.
Carewell Emergency Ambulance is questioning the award of the tender to Metropolitan Health Corporate. The tender, worth R173m a year over the next three years, is to provide the police with wellness screening, assistance with temporary incapacity leave, ill-health retirements as well as other medical assessments.
Cedric Mashala, the director of Carewell Emergency Ambulance, said in court papers that his company was only told that its bid was dismissed after the tender was awarded to Metropolitan. A total of 16 bids were received and the evaluation process consisted of various phases. All the bidders had to be registered on the central supplier database at National Treasury and submit pricing schedules.
He was eventually told his company’s bid was invalidated because the SAPS was not convinced by its performance at the due diligence meeting that it could meet the requirements of the tender. Mashala said his company was not given any opportunity to make representations regarding the decision.
The court ordered the SAPS to hand over all documents to the applicant on which it had based its decision to grant the tender to Metropolitan.
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/news/court-bid-to-overturn-saps-multi-million-tender-to-render-healthcare-services-761a2494-9eab-47c9-9bc0-c2180751327b"]Full Pretoria News report[/link]