The decision to forgo a marking scheme in the tender evaluation for drinking water procurement was approved by the Director of the Government Logistics Department (GLD), Carlson Chan Ka-shun, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau revealed on Monday.
The disclosure follows strong criticism from Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Saturday, who stated the GLD had "failed to uphold its duties." The rebuke marks Lee's first direct criticism of the department since he took office three years ago.
When questioned about the Chief Executive's comments and the absence of a marking scheme on Monday morning, Chan remained silent, noting only that he had already addressed the matter the previous week.
A comparison of this year's tender documents for bottled water with those from 2023 shows a significant change: the current evaluation process prioritized price per liter over a more comprehensive assessment of technical competence through a marking scheme.
While the "Stores and Procurement Regulations" and "Financial Circular No. 2/2019" encourage the use of a marking scheme to solicit a wider range of suggestions, it is not mandatory. Departments may proceed without one if they secure approval from public officers at the directorial level and provide sufficient justification.
In this case, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau explained that the straightforward specifications for bottled water made a marking scheme unnecessary, as key criteria like delivery times were already stipulated in the basic tender requirements.
In light of the incident, lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong acknowledged systemic issues within the tender evaluation process. He emphasized that while accountability is important, it should not overshadow the need for improved procurement practices.
Ho urged the government to enhance the tender evaluation process, noting that different procurement amounts require different criteria.
He also expressed hope that the ongoing investigation would yield practical recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.
