PPDA halts EC ballot paper tender award to foreign firms

POLITICS   BALLOT PAPERS

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) on Thursday halted the procurement process of ballot papers for the 2021 General election following a petition from Uganda Printers and Packaging Association (UPPA) after the Electoral Commission awarded the tender to foreign firms.

PPDA Executive Director Benson Turamye confirmed the halting of the process noting that they had received a petition from UPPA. 

"We received a petition from UPPA and today, I have written to the EC halting this procurement. I have constituted a special team that will look at the concerns raised by UPPA on Monday to review the tender and confirm the allegations," Turamye said.

The move follows a petition by UPPA in a letter dated September 30, to PPDA in which they noted that "Members are in receipt of the Best Evaluated Bidder notice for the printing of ballot papers for the 2021 General elections. UPPA is deeply disappointed to note that the EC has decided to award all bids to foreign firms despite the presence of abundant local printing capacity, the Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy and the PPDA reservation guideline 2018 that requires EC to source such services locally."

New Vision broke the story of the award of the tender to foreign firms on Monday. In the Thursday New Vision, we provided more details on how the tender was inflated by over sh40b.

Read the full story in the Friday Vision.