Document in the possession of Liberia Public Radio has revealed that the Public Procurement and Concession Commission approved the NEC’s 2021 by-Elections procurement plan for Bomi, Bong, Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties.
This comes in the wake of media reports quoting the PPCC Boss Madam on November 15, 2021; that she had no idea about the NEC’s transaction.
The statement by the PPCC Boss was insinuating corruption at the commission which is not the case. The budget for the four by-elections were US$190,000; while for the rental of the Artificial Intelligence Device and services, the bid price was US$182,320.
In referenced to a communication addressed to the NEC Chairperson from the PPCC, a copy in the possession of this LPR states that “the Commission, upon review and careful scrutiny of NEC’s By-Elections Procurement Plan, expressed justifications, and subsequent accompanying documents, hereby states that the following packages outlaid on the procurement plans (Non-SBA SBA), and indicated on explanatory notes, are hereby approved for subsequent execution of stipulated processes.
Accordingly, they include the National Competitive Bidding (NCB), for generator spare parts and lubricants, newspapers and advertisement, for radio; and the Restricted Bidding (RB), for computer supplies and ICT equipment, and verification equipment rental.
Others were the Request for Quotation (RFQ), and the Sole Source (Indicated requested vendors), for elections stationery, by-elections ballot papers, printing of elections materials among others.
The document also revealed that the PPCC “re-echoes to the NEC to improve the execution of time-bound elections procurement, specifically the usage of Advanced Procurement Process for proper planning purposes; and went on to also informed the NEC that its By-Elections Procurement Plan will be duly forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and that the Ministry will process allotments in keeping with the approved procurement plan.
However, it has been reliably learnt that the current media saga that is hanging over the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission, Cllr. Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah, is being orchestrated by present and former staff of the National Elections Commission.
Recently, the National Election Commission reportedly spent a total of US$182,320 to rent 20 pieces of a facial recognition system for the conduct of by-elections in four counties.
The set of equipment was being rented from a local business group Tuma Enterprise and expected to perform non-contact automatic body temperature detection, brush human face, and perform high-precision infrared human temperature acquisition, and high effect.
The equipment being rented by NEC is widely used at entrances to public facilities to monitor access and attendance for safe and efficient access control of personnel.
A 20-inch size of the technology is old for US$1,120.00 on Amazon.com but NEC opted not to procure its own, instead spent US$9,166 to rent a single facial recognition system from the Tuman Enterprise.
That means NEC paid Tuma Enterprise a total of US$183,320 for 20 units of the equipment.
