Wakilii

Lira Smoked and Silver Fish Vendor Cooperative Society Limited v Lira City Council (Application No 5 of 2023)

Tribunal · [2023] UGPPDPAAT 8 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of procurement decisions before the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Appeals Tribunal following unsuccessful administrative review
Decision
Application granted; procurement cancelled; contract awards set aside; Respondent may retender if it wishes

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Tribunal held that the Applicant's disqualification was unlawful because the bidding document did not prescribe specific formats for declarations of nationality, conflict of interest, or non-suspension, and the Applicant's signed bid submission sheet declaring compliance with eligibility criteria was sufficient. The contract awards were illegal as they were issued during the administrative review period contrary to section 89(11)(b) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act. The Tribunal cancelled the procurement and set aside the contract awards.

Outcome

Application granted; procurement cancelled; contract awards set aside; Respondent may retender if it wishes

Facts

Lira City Council invited bids for three revenue collection services at Lira Main Market in January 2023. The Applicant bid for all three contracts but was disqualified at the preliminary stage for allegedly failing to declare nationality, absence of conflict of interest, and non-suspension by PPDA. The evaluation committees recommended other bidders as best evaluated, and the Respondent issued contract award letters on 15th February 2023. The Applicant challenged the awards through administrative review on 9th February 2023, which was dismissed on 14th February 2023. The Applicant then applied to the Tribunal on 17th February 2023, contending that its bid submission sheet contained sufficient declarations and that government policy required market revenue collection to be reserved for vendors' cooperatives.

Issues

  1. Whether the format of the Application is competent?
  2. Whether the Respondent erred in law when it disqualified the Applicant's bid in the 3 procurements?
  3. Whether the award of contracts to the best evaluated bidders was lawful?
  4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Decision of the Accounting Officer dated 14th February 2023 set aside.
  • Contract award letters issued to Obanga Amio Enterprises Ltd, Buu-Lepu Foundation Ltd and Lira Municipality Market Vendors Association cancelled and set aside with immediate effect.
  • The three impugned procurements (collection of revenue from Bicycle and Motor Cycle Parking Yard, Public Convenience, and Market Gate) cancelled.
  • Respondent may retender the procurements if it so wishes.
  • Respondent to refund administrative fees paid by the Applicant.
  • Tribunal's suspension order dated 17th February 2023 vacated.
  • Each party to bear own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Public Procurement — Bid Evaluation — Eligibility Requirements — Sufficiency of Declaration
Where a bidding document does not prescribe specific formats for declarations of eligibility criteria and does not require separate documentary proof, a bidder's signed declaration in the bid submission sheet that it meets the eligibility criteria specified in the bidding procedures is sufficient compliance with eligibility requirements.
Public Procurement — Bid Evaluation — Non-Material Omissions — Discretion to Seek Clarification
Under regulation 45(9) of the Local Governments (Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets) Regulations 2006, an evaluation committee has discretion to determine that the omission of documentary evidence to certify eligibility is a non-material omission and may request a bidder to submit that documentation as a clarification.
Public Procurement — Contract Award — Administrative Review Period — Prohibition
Section 89(11)(b) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act 2003 prohibits an Accounting Officer from entering into a contract with a provider during the administrative review period. Contract award letters issued during this period are illegal, null and void.
Public Procurement — Reservation Schemes — Government Policy on Market Management
A procuring entity putting out a bid for the development or management of a market must take into account government policy prioritising the rights of sitting tenants who own and operate stalls and kiosks in existing markets, and should not ignore the policy simply because there exists no registered association or cooperative in a particular market.
Procedural Compliance — Substance Over Form
Non-conformity with a particular prescribed form does not render a document void. Regard must be made to considering the substance rather than the form, as provided under section 43 of the Interpretation Act.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (5)

  • Arua Municipal Council v Arua United Transporters' SACCO (Civil Appeal No. 25 of 2017)
  • Apple Properties Ltd v UHRC (Application No. 1 of 2023)
  • Orungo Market Vendors Association v Amuria District Local Government (Application No. 41 of 2022)
  • Arua Kubala Park Operators and Market Vendors SACCO v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (Application No. 4 of 2015)
  • Arua-Kubala Park Operators & Market Vendors SACCO v Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority & Arua Municipal Council (Application No. 9 of 2016)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Lira Smoked and Silver Fish Vendor Cooperative Society Limited v Lira City Council (Application No 5 of 2023) 2023 UGPPDPAAT 8 (15 March 2023)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.