Commission decides not do 2nd tender for ink
Commission decides not do 2nd tender for ink
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) decided on Friday not to
re-tender for ink procurement, despite doubts over the financial
capability of eight companies bidding for the project.
Chairman of the KPU ink tender committee Rusadi Kantaprawira
said the decision was taken following strong support from the
House of Representatives (DPR) regarding the current process.
"We (KPU members) have met House leaders and they are not in
favor of a re-tender, so the current tender will continue,"
Rusadi said.
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin called for a re-tender on
Thursday after the eight companies bidding for the project
submitted a price quotation far exceeding the budget allocated.
Calls for a re-tender, however, have also surfaced following
revelations that most bidding participants are financially
unsound.
The directorate general for taxation reportedly made a phone
call to the KPU, informing the committee that most of the bidders
had low financial capabilities.
During the meeting with the House, KPU members were led by
Nazaruddin, while House leaders were led by Speaker Akbar
Tandjung, who was exonerated of corruption by the Supreme Court
on Thursday.
Rusadi said that the ink re-tender was only possible if the
current tender failed to produce winners or the winners and the
committee reached deadlock in negotiating a price.
"But at present, the tender has not selected winners,
therefore an ink re-tender cannot be carried out," he said.
According to Rusadi, the ink tender would assess the bidders'
core business, import experience, ink procurement experience and
their distribution links, as well as other criteria.
Earlier on Thursday, Nazaruddin issued an instruction asking
the tender committee to annul the tender and carry out an ink re-
tender due to the high price quoted by the bidders.
They quoted an ink price of Rp 25,700 to Rp 42,500 per 30
milliliter bottle, while KPU has set a maximum price of Rp 36,500
per bottle.
The bidders are PT Fulcomas Jaya, PT Lina Permai Sakti, Multi
Mega, PT Mustika Indra Mas, PT Senorotan Perkasa, PT Tricipta
Adimandiri, PT Wahgo International and PT Yana Prima Hasta
Persada.
KPU will choose four winners to provide ink for the April 5
election.
Separately, Mulyana W. Kusumah, chairman of the ballot paper
printing tender, said the committee had considered ordering more
paper from PT Kertas Lecces, worth Rp 13 billion, to fulfill the
ballot paper printing requirements.
A total of 18 bidders have been selected as winners to print
over 600 million ballot papers, but most of them offered
quotations higher than the prices set by the committee.
The bidders quoted prices of Rp 360 to Rp 1,210 per paper,
while the committee set a maximum price of Rp 400 per paper.
Meanwhile, KPU will send a team to Shanghai, China, to study
the possibility of importing 260,000 ballot boxes from China.
KPU deputy secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo said the team
would depart on Saturday and return home on Sunday.
"We shall check whether there are ballot boxes already in
stock in China, as promised by PT Tricipta Adimandiri," he said.
Tricipta, which is also one of the ink tender bidders,
recorded no sales and paid no taxes in 2003, according to a tax
report.
The price of one ballot box was offered at Rp 129,000
excluding tax, with KPU limiting the total price of one box to Rp
147,000.