Mbarara City Truck Owners Drivers and Loaders Cooperative Society Limited v Mbarara City Council (Application 19 of 2024)

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

Holding

Held that failure to serve statutory notice under section 89(10) does not vitiate the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Accounting Officer erred by failing to guide the Applicant on administrative review fees and by failing to communicate a decision within ten days. The evaluation committee erred by disqualifying the Applicant for non-submission of eligibility documents without first requesting clarification, and by disqualifying another bidder using criteria not stated in the bidding document. Application allowed; procurement remitted for re-evaluation.

Outcome

Matter remitted to Respondent for re-evaluation of bids within 10 working days

Facts

Mbarara City Council initiated a tender for collection of revenue from lorry park fees for April–June 2024. Two bidders submitted bids. The Respondent issued a Notice of Best Evaluated Bidder on March 20, 2024, indicating a NIL return as both bidders were disqualified. The Applicant was disqualified for not attaching registered powers of attorney and a list of directors/proprietors with photographs. The other bidder was disqualified for having previously refused to take up a revenue source. The Applicant filed an administrative review complaint on March 26, 2024. The Accounting Officer did not advise on administrative review fees and did not communicate a decision within the statutory ten-day period. The Applicant then filed this application with the Tribunal on April 9, 2024.

Issues

1. Whether the Application is competent?
2. Whether Accounting Officer of the Respondent erred in law when he omitted to guide the Applicant on payment of administrative review fees and also failed to make and communicate a decision regarding the Complaint within statutory timelines?
3. Whether the evaluation was lawfully conducted by the evaluation committee of the Respondent?
4. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

• The Application is allowed.
• The Respondent is directed to re-evaluate the bids in the impugned procurement in a manner not inconsistent with the decision of the Tribunal, the Bidding Document and the law.
• The re-evaluation shall be completed within 10 working days from the date of this decision.
• The Tribunal's suspension order dated April 9, 2024, is vacated.
• Each party shall bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (16)

• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.71(3)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(1)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(3)(a)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(3)(b)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(7)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(8)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(9)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.89(10)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act s.91(2)(b)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Administrative Review) Regulations 2023 reg.10(2)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Evaluation) Regulations 2023 reg.5
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Evaluation) Regulations 2023 reg.6
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Evaluation) Regulations 2023 reg.17(3)(d)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Evaluation) Regulations 2023 reg.17(6)
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Rules and Methods for Procurement of Supplies, Works and Non-Consultancy Services) Regulations 2023 reg.62(3)
• Co-operative Societies Act

Cases cited (10)

• Kampala Capital City Authority v Kabandize and 20 Others (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 13 of 2014)
• APA Insurance Uganda Ltd v Uganda National Roads Authority (Application No. 2 of 2022)
• Elite Chemicals Ltd v Uganda Coffee Development Authority (Application No. 7 of 2021)
• EAA Company Ltd & Others v Uganda National Bureau of Standards & Others (Applications No. 15, 17 and 18 of 2023)
• Nam Terminal Consults v Mbale DLG (Application No. 16 of 2024)
• Apple Properties v Uganda Human Rights Commission (Application No. 1 of 2023)
• Samanga Elcomplus JV v Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (Application No. 17 of 2021)
• Frida B. Kwikiriza v Buliisa District Local Government (Application No. 28 of 2022)
• Mbarara City South Boda Boda Operators Sacco v Mbarara City Council (Application No. 22 of 2022)
• Juan Carlos Surace Ltd v Masindi District Local Government (Application No. 12 of 2024)

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