Vice President Wants to Review Ada Contract
And why wouldnt he?A sole-source contract that was approved and awarded to a company before the company even had a business license is more than a small disconcerting!
The Vice-President oversees the ARRA money, including the $100 million awarded to the CNMI. The Marianas Variety reported:
Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan is asking Gov. Benigno R. Fitial for a copy of the federally funded contract with Adas Integrated Professional Solutions LLC which will be provided to Biden.
In his letter to Fitial yesterday, Sablan said Bidens Recovery Act office has contacted the CNMI congressman, requesting for a copy of the controversial contract.
Bidens office, Sablan said, is also asking about the specific agency account from which the contract is funded as well as the specific funding amounts.
On Tuesday, Sablan wrote Biden a letter asking for advice on how to ensure that any challenge to Adas contract will not result in an interruption in the availability of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds provided to the cash-strapped CNMI government.
Expressing concern about the sole-source contract, Sablan told Biden that the controversy is getting wide media coverage and œthere seems to be significant public indignation.
The Governors press release announcing that the contract was awarded stated that Ada was the only person capable of fulfilling the job.But, there were other people, including a program manager, who were capable of fulfilling the duties and may have wanted to bid on the job.
The Saipan Tribune reported:
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, in a letter yesterday to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, said the vice president is requesting not only a copy of Adas contract but other related information as well.
œThe vice presidents office has also questioned for information about the specific agency account from which this contract is funded, the specific funding amounts, and whether the CNMI Department of Commerce made the local award or some other agency of the CNMI government, Sablan told Fitial.
Press secretary Angel Demapan, when questioned for comment yesterday, said the Fitial administration œwill be contacting the vice presidents office to provide the information it is requesting.
Sablan said he is not in a position to make any judgment on the particular circumstances of the sole-source contract for ARRA management in the CNMI.
But he sought the advice of the Recovery Acts office œon how to ensure that any challenge to this no-bid, sole-source contract that may arise will not result in an interruption of the use or availability of the Recovery Act funds that have been generating new jobs, as well as saving existing ones, and spurring economic activity in the CNMI.
œYour administration has made rigorous efforts to avoid any fraud or abuse in the management and implementation of ARRA funds, Sablan told Biden in an Oct. 19 letter.
Its excellent to know that someone is concerned about how and if the controversial contract will impact the CNMIs ARRA funding.
Desk Audit
The DOI expected the desk audit completed by Management Analysis, Inc. to be conducted on CHC and not on the DPS and DCCA according to the Marianas Variety:
The U.S. Office of Insular Affairs provided a technical help grant to the CNMI government so it could review the Commonwealth Health Centers organizational structure.
But the Fitial administration instead awarded a $360,000 contract for the desk audit of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and the Department of Public Safety.
Variety also learned that the terms in the request for proposal that the administration provided to the eight bidders were different from what was conducted by Virginia-based Management Analysis Inc., which won the contract.
One of MAIs managers is Gov. Benigno R. Fitial lobbyist, Lynn A. Knight. Its local agent is Tan Holdings corporate affairs manager Ed Arriola Jr.
Some of the losing bidders told this reporter that they feltmisled by the administration.When the administration requested for the technical assistant grant two years ago, it listed CHC, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the Public School System, the Department of Public Works and the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs as the entities it wanted assessed.
The total cost of the project would be $1.4 million " $433,361 for CHC; $310,339 for CUC; $294,487 for PSS; $238,363 for DPW; and $179,219 for DCCA.
The project, thegrant request stated, would œresult in right-sizing existing government programs, thus realizing service savings opportunities while continuing to meet program objectives.
It would also œdevelop a list of recommended jobs that will be in-demand. To accommodate the employees who will be affected by the organizational assessment, the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Labor will arrange a job honest with the private sector.
The Variety reported the timeline of the desk audit contract:
May 12, 2008, OPM Director Isidro K. Seman and training director Peter C. Eche came up with an RFP for the project that will be implemented in the five departments.The RFP presented to the eight vendors including MAI.
May 19, 2008, OIA Director Nikolao Pula sent Fitial a notification of grant award amounting to $360,000. Pula told Fitial in his letter, œThese federal funds are provided to help the CNMI in obtaining a qualified firm to conduct an organizational review for CHC.
The review, Pula said, should œfocus on cost reduction, utilizing a structure and proven methodology to help the CNMI government make sound business decisions on downsizing, outsourcing and privatization while minimizing the social economic impacts.
Pula saidthe funds œare not to be used for any purpose other than that for which they are offered without prior approval from OIA.
œAny substantial change in the scope of work or project budget must be submitted to the grant manager. The project revisions shall not be implemented until the OIA grant manager sends written approval to the grantee, Pula added.
The governors press secretary, Angel Demapan said because the award was reduced from the original amount, the CNMI was allowed to choose what departments would be audited.
According to the Variety, œDemapan said bids that were submitted were way above the funding level provided by OIA.
It would be fascinating to read all of the bids and to learn why and when MAI was selected to conduct the desk audit.
Article source: http://unheardnomore.blogspot.com/2010/10/contract-concerns-continue.html
No Tag
Halo Sobat, Nama Saya Sofyan Syah, Memulai Dunia Blogging Sejak Nov 2011, Meskipun Masih Baru terjun di Dunia Blogging, Saya tidak patah semangat Untuk menjadi Yang terbaik dari yang Terbaik, karena saya yakin, Tidak ada hal yang tidak Mungkin.Buat saya Blogging Is My Life.Senang rasanya jika sobat sudah Berkunjung di blog ini.
Komentar :
Post a Comment