The National Bureau of Standards does not doctor results of tenders for bids

SIIR— Our attention has been drawn to the article “South African firm gets another food tender” carried in The New Vision of November 16.
It was alleged that results of the firms which had bid for the supply of army rations were doctored by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) in favour of one of the companies, Pacific Trade and Commerce. We wish to clarify as follows:-

The UPDF submitted samples of biscuits, baked beans and Tinned Beef from three bidding firms.

The sample bore field numbers not names, so the UNBS has no knowledge of the identity of the actual bidders and so cannot know whose sample was which.

The UNBS tested all samples as per specifications submitted by the UPDF. These specifications were more stringent than the corresponding Uganda Standards requirements.

Of the three firms only one passed all the tests for each of the three items whereas the remaining two firms passed tests for one or two of the items.

It was up to the client (UPDF) to decide whether in order to supply, a bidder needed to pass tests for all the items, or a bidder could supply on the item for which tests were passed.

At the time of testing, the UNBS would have no knowledge of tendered values for the supply of the items. Its results have no consideration for value of bids or indeed other criteria qualifying a bid.

The UNBS cannot and will never falsify or tamper or
collude in any way with the process or results of tenders.
All documents are available for inspection.

Dr Terry Kahuma
Executive Director
Uganda National Bureau of Standards