Taposh awards Tk 5.4b contracts to AL men through ‘manipulation’

There was a huge manipulation in awarding contracts for the development work at the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) over the past four years.

Leaders and activists of the Awami League, along with close associates of the mayor, have unscrupulously carried out the majority of the organisation’s development projects and various procurements.

They secured these contracts through manipulation, without any competition, amounting to approximately Tk 5.4 billion.

Due to hiring preferred individuals, and in some cases, unqualified individuals, many projects were not completed on time, causing the public significant inconvenience for months. Furthermore, contractors could not be pressured to ensure quality standards in their work.

At least seven officials at the engineering department of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) confirmed to Prothom Alo that such practices of assigning and executing work took place. The officials, however, preferred not to be named due to concerns about job security.

Sources said the allocation of contracts was predetermined. After tenders were announced, specific individuals were guaranteed to receive the work.

Through this process, the Dhaka South City Corporation authorities implemented development projects worth approximately Tk 3.76, in addition to executing another Tk 1.65 billion worth of projects.

Reviewing tenders for road repairs and infrastructure improvements in various areas, it was found that there was no competition in 174 cases.

This means that for each contract, only one bid was submitted when tenders were called. Through this illicit method, the organisation carried out projects worth Tk 2.04 billion.

Sources said the authorities instructed that at least two bids have to be submitted for each contract instead of one bid.

In this situation, two contractors submitted bids for 122 contracts. However, it was already determined who would win the contracts, leading to collusion in submitting bids. In this way, projects worth Tk 1.76 billion have been executed.

Moreover, mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh distributed 132 projects valued at Tk 1.65 billion among party leaders and activists.

Directors associated with various development projects and four senior officials from the engineering department of Dhaka South City Corporation told Prothom Alo that instructions were given to relevant engineers on how to allocate contracts among party leaders and workers.

If the leaders were unable to fulfill the implementation conditions, some contracts would be opened up for competitive bidding later, the officials added.

Since taking office as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation in May 2020, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has been contacted in various ways by Prothom Alo regarding the allegations of distributing contracts among preferred individuals.

However, he couldn't be contacted. It is reported that he left the country somewhat secretly two days before the government fell in the face of a student uprising.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, one engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation claimed they finalised contractors following proper procedures and they adhered to the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system.

If multiple contractors do not submit bids for a project, the official said, they have nothing to do.

Since 2011, e-GP has been used to invite tenders and finalise contractors to combat corruption and irregularities in procurement. Under this system, any individual or entity from any country can participate.

However, a senior engineer from the city corporation, who preferred not to be named, told Prothom Alo that the city authorities have been facilitating the preferred contractors in applying through e-GP.

The process appears transparent; however, when only one firm responds to hundreds of tenders and consistently wins contracts, questions inevitably arise, the engineer pointed out.

When asked about this, the chief executive officer of Dhaka South City Corporation, Mizanur Rahman, stated that the finalisation of contractors and tenders is primarily handled by the corporation's top officials, including the mayor. Since he is not involved in these processes, he has no comments.

Many old contractors have left the Dhaka South City Corporation over the past four years due to the allocation of work to preferred individuals.

One contractor, who worked on projects worth Tk 520 million during the tenure of the previous mayor Mohammad Saeed Khokon, requested anonymity while stating that after mayor Taposh took office, he began allocating contracts to preferred individuals to solidify his position, leading him to stop submitting tenders for South City projects.

Since the winners were predetermined, he did not want to incur expenses by submitting a bid.

Sources at the engineering department of Dhaka South City Corporation said Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has awarded multiple contracts to Abu Ahmed Mannafi, the president of the Awami League’s Dhaka South unit, and its general secretary, Humayun Ahmed.

One of these contracts involves the construction of two basements and an underground facility for a multi-story building in the Gulistan area, for which the corporation has allocated Tk 250 million.

A senior official at the South City Corporation said that a Tk 300 million project was awarded to Awami League presidium member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury.

He said, “The mayor called me and asked to give that contract to Maya Bhai (Mofazzal Hossain). I later told Maya Bhai that I would sell this contract and send you the money.”

This official said that after assigning contracts to preferred individuals, most would sell these contracts to others for a commission of 10 to 15 per cent.

As a result, many unprofessional individuals became involved in development work, and professional contractors left the city corporation, leading to a lack of quality in many projects.

Sources said that work has also been distributed among leaders and activists of the Awami League’s affiliated organisations. For example, the Tk 150 million Dhaka Lake renovation project was awarded to Kamrul Hasan (Ripon) from the Dhaka South city Swechchhasebok League.

Mayor Taposh has also assigned contracts to the presidents and general secretaries of every police station under the Dhaka South unit Awami League, as well as to central leaders of the Chhatra League and Jubo League, including leaders at the police station and ward levels.

Several officials and employees from the engineering department of Dhaka South City Corporation said that while it is impossible to prove in writing that contracts have been allocated to party affiliates, in reality, the mayor would call the relevant engineer and give directives on who should receive what work.

Although that person would select a contracting firm, a specific amount of money would eventually be given to the mayor’s preferred individual.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Faruk Hossain, a procurement expert and former director general of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority, said that if work was done following the proper processes, multiple bidders would have applied for projects in South City.

He pointed out, as each of the numerous tenders received only one bid, it suggests that manipulation occurred in the awarding of contract.

Faruk Hossain said an investigation is necessary to determine why only one firm submitted bids for so many tenders without competition.

If any manipulation is found, action should be taken against those involved, he added.