• Latest
  • Trending

Chris: Complaints cast shadow over garbage collection bidding process

February 21, 2021
Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

Roban a mano armada Sunshine Supermarket en St. Peters.

July 7, 2025
Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

Reportan disturbios públicos y arresto de personas

July 7, 2025
Realizan controles de tráfico exhaustivos para pasolas y motocicletas en varios distritos

Realizan controles de tráfico exhaustivos para pasolas y motocicletas en varios distritos

July 7, 2025
Evento “Buss di Chains” sin incidentes y con un solo arresto

Evento “Buss di Chains” sin incidentes y con un solo arresto

July 7, 2025
Delegación evalúa el progreso de las reparaciones de las celdas Policiales en Philipsburg

Policía investiga agresión en el Casino Rouge ET Noir

July 7, 2025
Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

July 7, 2025
Register today for the next Free Breast Exam & Health Screening scheduled for September 21

El CPS se prepara para celebrar la Semana Mundial de la Lactancia Materna 2025

July 7, 2025
Kadaster St. Maarten ya está oficialmente preparado para SIG

Kadaster St. Maarten ya está oficialmente preparado para SIG

July 7, 2025
Qredits Inauguró la Academia de Negocios Agrícolas en Sint Maarten

Qredits Inauguró la Academia de Negocios Agrícolas en Sint Maarten

July 6, 2025
Se completaron dos semanas de asistencia militar intensiva en el Cuartel de la Infantería de Marina de Suffisant

Se completaron dos semanas de asistencia militar intensiva en el Cuartel de la Infantería de Marina de Suffisant

July 6, 2025
BTP y ODM colaboran en un programa de capacitación en drones para miembros del COE

BTP y ODM colaboran en un programa de capacitación en drones para miembros del COE

July 6, 2025
La Ministra de Finanzas recibió un libro histórico sobre el florín de las Antillas Neerlandesas (NAf) y un juego de colección de florines caribeños

La Ministra de Finanzas recibió un libro histórico sobre el florín de las Antillas Neerlandesas (NAf) y un juego de colección de florines caribeños

July 6, 2025
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Advertise
  • Home
  • ACTUALIDAD
  • English News
  • Gobierno
  • Imagen den dia
  • NOSOTROS EN SINT MAARTEN
  • Salúd
  • Video
  • Contact us
  • King Willem-Alexander formally apologizes for Dutch history of slavery
  • Mensaje de Año Nuevo de la Primera Ministra Silveria Jacobs
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Chris: Complaints cast shadow over garbage collection bidding process

by The Admin
February 21, 2021
in ACTUALIDAD
0

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Mssrten – Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel is extremely concerned about complaints he has received about the tendering process to award new waste disposal contracts.
Emmanuel said if some of the “very worrying” information he has received is true, legal challenges and consequences could follow casting doubt and suspicion over the entire tendering process.

The MP said over the past week complaints have ranged from the process being rigged in thefavor of some, to bids being changed illegally and no transparency extended to companies. The situation has reportedly also resulted in at least two senior VROMI officials on the bid evaluation team distancing themselves from the process in writing. All bids had to be submitted by February 2 by 10:00am.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Roban a mano armada Sunshine Supermarket en St. Peters.

Reportan disturbios públicos y arresto de personas

“If any bid was changed internally after that time, it would constitute a punishable illegal act,” the MP said, adding that it behooves the Minister of VROMI to provide clarity to the public and be transparent about who were awarded the bids as well as indicate beyond a reasonable doubt that all documents are in place and no changes were made after the fact. There are reports that orders to change bids came from the top. These are serious charges to make. I am not accusingvanyone of anything. But people have questions and they must be addressed to protect the
integrity of the process, this includes the Council of Ministers speaking to the members of thevbid evaluation team from the Ministry of VROMI” the MP said.

Another point of contention for some companies was the reported removal of certain bid criteria,vthen having the same criteria re-inserted. “These alleged inconsistencies leading up to the bid has contributed to the suspicion of wrong-doing in the process. I would assume that the tender terms of reference and other documents were vetted prior to the start of the process. So why all the reported inclusions and exclusions,” the MP said.

One such issue is the performance guarantee requirement. This guarantee calls for the companies to obtain a guarantee from a lending institution (so a bank) indicating that the company has the required money on hand. It is stipulated in the tender documents that the company should have a minimum of 10% of the bid amount in its bank account. So if the bid is, for example, US $5million, then the company must be able to show that it has 10% of that (500,000) in the bank.

In the information meeting about the tendering process, it was stated that this performance guarantee requirement would not be included. This was welcomed by the smaller and newer companies. However, when the minutes of the meeting were presented two weeks later, VROMI indicated that it would indeed be included in the terms of reference. The smaller companies saw this as a disadvantage as it created an unfair playing field for new comers.
MP Emmanuel recommends that the Council of Ministers should seek to “freeze all movement
of those tender documents” and conduct its own inquiry to settle any suspicion. “This is
important because if indeed bids were tampered with, it would not be fair to most if the entire

tender have to be re-done. Pricing at this point would be known by all for specific bids. An independent firm should also be commissioned to look at the bids to assure ultimate transparency and if the process was followed correctly,” the MP said.

The MP said allegedly companies are already mobilizing to execute contracts after having been informed that they won the bid. There has been no public announcement or information from the Minister of VROMI or the VROMI Ministry about the awarding of contracts. “In the meantime others are still waiting on word and they want to be able to be shown or told why they were not chosen and why others were,” the MP said.

Additionally, the complaints to the MP included companies saying that they were informed by VROMI personnel that they won a bid for garbage collection for a particular district, only to hear later that it was awarded to a different company. Also of concern is how many contracts/parcels can be awarded per family or per household.

Going into the bidding process it was stipulated that only one parcel/contract per family or household could be granted. If this stipulation was to change, it would require a decision of the Council of Ministers. The MP said he understood from the complaints expressed to him that this provision was entirely removed. It is unclear if the Council of Ministers approved this change or if the change was made by the Minister alone. This particular point remains an issue of contention due to several parcels being awarded to family members in the past. “There are
concerns that these stipulations were not followed,” the MP said.

Commonly called “garbage collection contracts,” the contracts are valued in the millions of guilders and awarded among various solid waste collection companies. The tendering process is supposed to be very strict and detailed with disqualifications commonplace due to lack of documents and missed deadlines.

The current contracts for the collection of solid waste in St. Maarten came into effect on April 1st 2016 for a period of five (5) years (ending March 31st 2021). For these contracts, St. Maarten was divided into eight (8) parcels to execute the work. The scope of the works of the current contracts includes the collection of solid waste as well as the cleaning of the public areas and neighborhoods.

Post Views: 158
Share196Tweet123

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

Roban a mano armada Sunshine Supermarket en St. Peters.

July 7, 2025
Policía detiene a sospechoso por agresión de violencia doméstica en Union Farm

Reportan disturbios públicos y arresto de personas

July 7, 2025
Realizan controles de tráfico exhaustivos para pasolas y motocicletas en varios distritos

Realizan controles de tráfico exhaustivos para pasolas y motocicletas en varios distritos

July 7, 2025
SXM IslandTime

© 2023 SXM Island Time All Rights Reserved

Navigate Site

  • About
  • advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • ACTUALIDAD
  • English News
  • Gobierno
  • Imagen den dia
  • NOSOTROS EN SINT MAARTEN
  • Salúd
  • Video
  • Contact us
  • King Willem-Alexander formally apologizes for Dutch history of slavery
  • Mensaje de Año Nuevo de la Primera Ministra Silveria Jacobs

© 2023 SXM Island Time All Rights Reserved