KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of National Security says all Government of Jamaica procurement guidelines necessary for the supply and maintenance of manufactured retrofitted/fit for purpose motor vehicles for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) were thoroughly observed.

The statement is a response to an article published in yesterday’s Jamaica Observer in which three of island’s top new car dealers charged that the ministry breached the Government’s procurement process by awarding the full contract for 62 pickups valued at $145 million and 43 SUVs costing $175 million to Stewart’s Automotive Group.

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The ministry noted that on June 3, 2019 it opened the national competitive bidding opportunity for the supply and delivery of 64 retrofitted pick-up trucks and 43 SUVs/crossover motor vehicles.

Subsequent to a thorough evaluation methodology conducted by the evaluation committee, the ministry said recommendations were made to award the contract for the supply and delivery of 64 pick-ups (Lot 1) to Stewart’s Auto Sales and the contract for the supply and delivery of 43 SUVs/crossovers (Lot 2) to Silver Star Motors.

The ministry noted further that several suppliers, including those specified in the Observer article, made submissions in response to the public tender advertised.

However, the ministry said not all tenders received met the procurement requirements and as such were eliminated at various stages of the evaluation process.

After a thorough assessment by the designated oversight approval bodies, Stewart’s Auto Sales and Silver Star Motors scored 100 per cent and 99 per cent respectively for their submissions, the ministry added.

“The ministry wishes to state that Silver Star Motors and Stewart’s Auto Sales were able to demonstrate that they are separate entities by submitting two separate and valid public procurement commission registrations, formerly known as national contracts commission certificates, and two separate and valid tax compliance certificates. Both entities adhered to instructions outlined in the Bidding Document; Instructions to Bidders 18.1(a), ITB 18.1(b) and ITB 31.2 (e) Bidders should submit the manufacturer’s authorisation letter proving that they are authorised dealers of the brand and model of vehicles for which their submissions were made,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.