Allegations have surfaced that evaluation documents were tampered with in a nearly Tk 10 crore software procurement tender floated by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), allowing two initially disqualified firms to be included in the list of qualified bidders.
A review of relevant documents obtained by the Daily Observer shows signs of handwritten alterations in the computerised evaluation sheets prepared by the tender evaluation committee. Two documents related to the evaluation are now in the possession of the newspaper.
According to the allegations, an influential group manipulated the evaluation process to ensure that two preferred firms�"Computer Network Systems (CNS) and IBCS-Primax�"remained eligible for the project.
Sources at BERC said the commission invited Expressions of Interest (EOIs) on January 12 this year for the development of a software platform. On April 15, BERC published a shortlist of seven firms deemed initially qualified. The list included eGeneration PLC, CNS, C-MAC & Parallaxlogic JV, Mysoft Heaven (BD) Ltd., JV of CBPO & AIM Global, SoftBD Ltd. JV with Octopus Communication Ltd., and IBCS-Primax Software (Bangladesh) Ltd. & Techno Mall Creation Ltd. JV.
People familiar with the evaluation process said the committee assessed the technical capability of the applicants against 11 evaluation criteria and finalized its report on February 26. Under the tender conditions, any bidder receiving a zero score in even one criterion was to be declared disqualified. However, documents indicate that the evaluation results for both CNS and IBCS-Primax were subsequently altered.
According to the records, IBCS-Primax failed to attach signed Curriculum Vitae (CVs) with photographs of its proposed experts in its EOI submission.
The tender document explicitly stated that any CV submitted without both a signature and photograph would result in automatic disqualification. While several other firms were rejected on this ground, the same condition was allegedly not applied to IBCS-Primax.
The documents also state that the project implementation team was required to include members holding bachelor's degrees in Computer Science or Computer Engineering. However, several members proposed by IBCS-Primax reportedly did not meet that academic requirement.
In addition, bidders were required to demonstrate prior experience in developing an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), a criterion that IBCS-Primax allegedly failed to satisfy. The company also lacked experience in developing a full-fledged accounting software system, having previously worked only on budget management systems, according to the evaluation records.
Sources involved in the process claimed that the evaluation committee's original report had marked both CNS and IBCS-Primax as technically non-responsive. However, the report was later altered, and both companies were included in the final list of qualified bidders.
When contacted, BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed told the Daily Observer, There is no scope for changing a company's evaluation through overwriting. If such an incident has occurred, we will take appropriate action. He added that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
