GHA weigh-bridge & road toll tenders in limbo

FOR ALMOST a year into the bidding for Road Toll and Axle Load Control Stations across the country, bidders are yet to know their fate as to who wins and not, since the contracting body, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) is yet to declare the tender results.

Whilst GHA officials are currently responsible for the collection of road tolls in the country, private companies that are manning the weighbridges even though the renewal of their contracts expired in December last year.

In October last year, GHA Management had given an assurance that the Axle Load tender results would be declared before the end of December last year, but the Authority is yet to execute that task, making the fate of bidders hang in a balance as there are no signs as who won what.

The situation has thus brought fear and panic within the corridors of bidders who took part in the National Competitive bidding for either the Road Tolls or Axle Load Control Stations, as they wonder what might be delaying the declaration of the results of what they bided for almost a year ago, and some pundits have alleged that the serious manipulation of the tender results might be the cause of the delay in the announcing the outcome of the bidding.

When contacted as to why the delay in the announcement of the results on the Axle Load tender, the acting Deputy Chief Executive in-charge of Administration, Mr. Francis Hammond said the Authority’s Tender Committee had finished its work and submitted the report to the Ministerial Tender Review Board, which was going through rigorous checks before the people can be informed about who gets what.

This is in contrary to what Mr. Hammond had told this reporter last year that his outfit was getting ready to engage new hands to once again take over the operations of the weighbridges by January this year but we are already in April and the paper can confidently say that as at press time yesterday, nothing had been heard as to when the new hands would be engaged.

Over 70 private companies were reported to have participated in a National Competitive Bidding to secure the management contract from GHA to manage the operations of the permanent weighbridges constructed across the country to ensure that all vehicles using or accessing the roads are within the legally permissible axle load limits prescribed under the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 L.I. 2180.

The paper reported in October last year that whilst some companies bided for only one lot, others went in for two, four and six, whereas a few others, including SGS Limited, an International company, who had the capacity, bided for all the bridges, even though the job was not meant for international bidders.

The story mentioned that there were some top GHA officials who were manipulating the tender process to ensure that SGS Limited, a foreign company, won all the weighbridges at the expense of the local companies that had so far proven to have applied the rules governing the operations of the bridges to the letter, a situation that was likely to breed corruption, and it would therefore defeat the rationale behind engaging private hands to manage the weighbridges.

Sources close to the paper had alleged that these GHA officials had taken over GHc300, 000.00 in bribe from SGS Limited, and hence, their resolve to ensure that SGS Limited was awarded all the lots across the country. It was for this reason that there was public outcry, appealing to the President to as a matter of urgency stamp his feet on the grounds and institute an investigative body to look at the alarming situation so as to avoid any manipulation whatsoever and allow due process to be followed.

Our investigations revealed that notwithstanding the public outcry, SGS Limited have used their stronger arms to hook four lots, a situation that defies the call that no one company should be awarded more than one lot on the same route to ensure proper checks and balances in the management of the stations.

These stations which SGS Limited managed to clinch are mainly new ones located at Doboro near Nsawam, Boankra and Asokwa in the Ashanti region, and Jema near Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Information gathered by this paper shows that there have been directives to Management of GHA to do proper background checks on SGS Limited at the Registrar-General’s Department to ascertain who the Directors/shareholders are.

This follows our expose that the company was maneuvering its way through those GHA officials to be awarded the contract to operate the 14 Axle Load Control Stations in the country.

The checks at the Registrar-General’s Department would have to find out if there are Ghanaians who have at least 51 per cent shares in the company, then SGS Limited would be awarded the four lots but if it is 49 per cent for Ghanaians, then they would forfeit what they have secured.

The paper is reliably informed that the Chief Executive of GHA has written to the Registrar-General’s Department to that effect, and the need for the Chairman of the Tender Committee to follow it up to get the needed information.

A guideline for operation and management of weighbridge stations says that any mistake committed at the previous stations in terms of weight and fines/fees must be corrected and not covered or condoned at the station where it is detected. Thus, if one company is offered the chance to operate and manage all, then it would be difficult for such a thing be corrected for fear of being blacklisted by the Authority.

Should a company be given the opportunity to manage all or more than one station, it will break the checks and balances that have existed since the bridges were privatized three years ago; in view of the fact that there would be a cartel of corrupt persons in the system which will dupe the country of huge sum of money.