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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
THE High Court has dismissed an application by a Bulawayo company which sought to block Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (PGH) from awarding a tender for cleaning services to a rival firm.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny (Pvt) Ltd and PGH have since 2016 been locked in a protracted legal wrangle after the hospital cancelled the tender initially awarded to the Bulawayo company and awarded it to Surdax Investments, a Harare-based company.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny accused PGH of clandestinely cancelling a tender it had won and “corruptly” awarding it to the Harare firm.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva on Thursday last week ruled that the application by Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny lacked merit.

The judge’s decision followed an application at the Bulawayo High Court by Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny citing PGH and Surdax Investments as respondents.

“In the present case, PGH’s decision cannot be described as so grossly unreasonable. As regards to bias, corruption and malice, I concur with PGH’s counsel that these allegations are a red herring.

Applicant’s prayer that they should be awarded the tender as the lowest bidder is baseless because the lowest bidder is Surdax Investments,” said Justice Takuva.

He said the bidding process followed by PGH was in tandem with the procurement laws and dictates of justice and fairness.

“Consequently, the alternative ground of review is devoid of merit and hereby dismissed,” ruled the judge.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny through its lawyers Ncube and Partners filed the application in 2016.

Surdax Investments was awarded the tender under No.CLE01/2016 to provide cleaning services at PGH.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny, which provides cleaning services to Government hospitals, State enterprises and private companies, wanted an order interdicting PGH from implementing the outcome of the tender process.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny in its application also wanted the tender process under No. CLE01/2016 nullified and substituted with a decision awarding the tender to the company.

In her founding affidavit, the director of the company, Ms Nonyamezelo Wilma Nyoni was accusing PGH of corruptly awarding the tender to Surdax Investments.

“This is an urgent ex-parte chamber application for urgent interim relief interdicting the first respondent (Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals) from implementing the outcome of the informal tender process, which it conducted under Tender No.CLE01/16.

The first respondent rejected as unsuccessful the applicant’s bid for the provision of cleaning services on the basis that it failed to meet the mandatory requirements by failing to specify payment terms,” said Ms Nyoni.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny, in court papers, claimed that it was the lowest bidder and wanted the informal tender process declared null and void citing “gross procedural irregularities.”

Ms Nyoni argued that the annual tender contract price exceeded the informal tender threshold stipulated in the Procurement (Amendment) Regulations No.18 of 2015.

“The decision by the first respondent to reject applicant’s tender bid on the basis that it did not specify payment when the payment terms were in fact specified in the bid, is irrational such that it might have been reached deliberately or inadvertently, by failing to apply the right criteria or though bias, malice or corruption,” said Ms Nyoni.

She said the aim of the tender process was to “kick out” her company out of the hospital.

In 2015, Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny took PGH to court for cancelling a tender for provision of cleaning services awarded to the company in 2011 in defiance of a court order.

The order by Justice Lawrence Kamocha, which was granted on January 19, 2012, read:

“The decision of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals cancelling the awarding of the tender under number SFT/PARI/HOSP/CLN/2011 be and is hereby set aside and the respondent is directed to allow applicant to continue finalisation of the contract for the cleaning of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.”

The State Procurement Board (SPB) awarded the tender for cleaning services to Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny.

The company accused the country’s largest referral hospital of resisting entering into a contract with her company on “spurious” grounds.

Sometime in June 2011, the Government through the SPB advertised a tender for the provision of cleaning services at PGH.

Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny submitted a tender and its bid was successful. SPB, which awarded the tender to Nyekile-One Penny-Half Penny under tender number SFT/PARI HOSP / CLN/2011, issued a memorandum directing the cleaning company and the hospital to engage in discussions as to finalise the contract for the provision of cleaning services.

@mashnet