Last month, we told you that the tender for the provision of laundry services for two years to regional and community hospitals was put out for the second time in two months.
This contract is usually awarded to Belize Dry Cleaners, which has invested millions in industrial laundry equipment. In the last tender, the two other companies who made bids weren't even operational. Still, their bids were 2x the price quoted by Belize Dry Cleaners - which won the bid - or at least, that's what they thought.
Today the Minister of Health explained that they simply got an extension, and the reason that the tender is going out again is because of some oversights in the last one. He also rejected any speculation that this was a way to get PUP friendly persons to "come up" on that upper six figure deal.
But the speculation that it is politically motivated comes from the strange lack of key equipment in the bidding instructions that were once considered necessary - perhaps a way for the connected companies to get their foot into the door.
We asked the Minister about it today.
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"When that tender was sent out in the previous months, it was sent out and in the ministry, when the tenders came back, we felt that we had to tender for specific reasons. There are some criteria that we had to put in that was mistakenly left out. So we're putting back out the tender, I've heard all kind of stories, whether or not we're trying to get Mr Lascelle out the business and so forth. I have no idea who are the people who are going to be tendering, or whatever interest they have, that is not my business. My responsibility as the minister of health is to ensure that there is fairness, there is equity and that there's competition, and that is what I am doing. Because I want to ensure that we cannot continue, this is my personal view, we cannot continue to burden our systems with only one service provider, it becomes a monopoly, we need to start to see where competition can bring down prices, where competition can offer better services. Now yea, maybe Mr Lascelle has had the experience in the years but just as he came a few years back, others who are entering this same business."
"I could tell you this, for years he has been providing a service at a far higher amount. Inflation, all of these, yet he was able to floor the price, so what has he been doing over the past years? creaming at the top? I will leave that there."
Reporter:
"Is quality ever an issue here or just the price?"
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"There's a lot of issues, it's not just price, we're looking at quality, at better service all kinds of things. But at the end of the day, like I said, the whole purpose of putting these things out to bid is to ensure that there's fairness and equity."
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"In fact I think Mr Lascelle won the bid for KHMH, KHMH did their own laundry bid and I think he won the bid for KHMH but what we are putting is the bid for the ministry services."
Courtney Menzies:
"Sir but why is it the in the instructions this time around, you've taken out the need for a backup generator, and an automatic piece folder, as well the requirement that it needs to be fully fledged has also been excised from the instructions, whereas in the previous instructions, these were key elements, key requirement for the bidders."
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"As I've said, when they drafted these instructions, there was an oversight of certain things, and not necessarily means that all these things that are set out in the begging instructions are strict measures that have to be put in place. So when they looked at the needs for the tender, the technical people felt that this is what they want and this is why they re-tendered the whole process."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you think the other two companies have made an investment comparable to Belize Dry Cleaners?"
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health
"I will go back to my point I made earlier. When Mr Lascelle came in, he started just like these other 2 or 3 to 4, I don't know how much of them will bid, so it's not about whether they made an investment a new entrant will never be the at the same level, but maybe they have, I don't know, they have to meet certain criteria that is passed by the ministry, once the people go out and do the inspection and they pass all the criteria then they have all rights to bid."
