Africa-Press – Uganda. A protracted legal battle is threatening to stall the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) processes for cars imported into Uganda.
The battle threatens to invite a number of uncomfortable questions for the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) that this year gave Quality Inspection Services Inc Japan (QISJ), a Japanese company, the all-clear to carry out the exercise.
Kampala Capital City Traders Association (Kacita) has weighed in on the matter. The umbrella association for all traders in the city, on September 25, petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, to intervene in the matter.
Basing on complaints from importers of used motor vehicles who are their members, Kacita came to the conclusion that there is no sufficient PVoC service provision to undertake inspection of used motor inspection.
It also accuses UNBS of creating a monopoly by singularly awarding the PVoC contract to QISJ Limited. Kacita also disclosed in the petition that the Japanese firm operates in an area very far from the Uganda-destined used motor vehicles.
This, Kacita adds, has led to increased costs of doing business, with the poor quality work done by QISJ staff compounding matters.
“You are already aware that UNBS has no capacity in general to inspect used motor vehicles in Uganda in relation to even the rest of the products. This means there is a danger of substandard used motor vehicles entering Uganda uninspected, which will increase the number of road-unworthy vehicles and those that may be contaminated with radiation and other effects,” the petition says.
“This is, therefore, to request that Parliament takes on this matter seriously and direct UNBS to ensure there are multiple service providers for traders to choose from to offer this service so as to enhance transparency and ease the cost of doing business and ensure all the objectives of PVoC are fulfilled fairly,” it adds.
UNBS response
Mr Charles Musekuura, the former National Standards Council chairperson, who was last week thrown out of office by Trade minister Francis Mwebesa, in a response to the petition was quick to dismiss Kacita.
He opined that the umbrella body did not understand the facts of the procurement process. They also, he added, had no clue how UNBS arrived at the selection of QISJ Inc.
Mr Musekuura said at the expiry of the contracts for the two entities that were undertaking PVoC services, UNBS initiated a new procurement process for the provision of the same services.
He further revealed that while the process was ongoing, the bureau temporarily extended the contracts of both QISJ and EAA until August 31, 2023. This was pending the completion of the procurement process in order to ensure continuity of the provision of the services.
“The standards body then awarded the contract to QISJ after emerging the best evaluated bidder (BEB) in the procurement. At this point, two other companies that bid; EAA Co. Limited and A1J Limited, filed applications for administrative Review before the PPDA tribunal,” he said.
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) tribunal not only cancelled the procurement but also raised issues with the bid documents provided by EAA Co. Limited. The tribunal held that these documents were riddled with misinformation and misrepresentation.
Minister Mwebesa concurred with the tribunal’s findings, and in a June 7 letter communicated the same to Mr Musekuura. He particularly noted that the EAA Company Ltd obtained the 2018 to 2023 contract fraudulently.
Court battles
Dissatisfied with the PPDA tribunal, UNBS contested its decision in the High Court. Consequently, the court on October 6, put a temporary injunction on the interim procurement and stay of execution of the PPDA tribunal order.
UNBS said suspension of the PVoC services by the tribunal would cause enormous revenue loss to both UNBS and the government. Destination inspection, it further noted, will be an expensive venture for both the importers and UNBS. This is especially so per the Bureau in the event that the vehicles imported are non-conforming and need to be re-exported to the country of export or need to be destroyed respectively.
“This will also cause unnecessary delays, which will lead to stock-outs for importers. UNBS does not have the capacity to carry out the exercise of destination inspection to prevent non-conforming vehicles from being imported into the country,” Mr Musekuura said.
On October 6, Mr Kintu Simon Zirintusa, the acting registrar of the Civil Division in the High Court, issued an order staying the execution of the decision of the PPDA tribunal and an interim order restraining the recruitment of an interim service provider, pending the hearing of the main case.
Source: Monitor
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