Public ‘in dark’ over oil buying

Oil business has many aspects, one of which is distribution to whole and retail traders. Oil tankers line for loading of the fuel. PHOTO | FILE 

By  Veneranda Sumila  (email the author)
 

 

In Summary

• The Citizen was hinted that the next tender opening will be held today but until yesterday there was no invitation sent out to the media.

Dar es Salaam. In an unexpected move, the Petroleum Importation Coordinator (PIC) has suddenly stopped publishing petroleum importation tendering process -- under the bulk procurement system. Sources from within the PIC told The Citizen that the decision to stop making the tendering process public was made by the new board.

This, according to the sources -- who requested anonymity because they are not spokesmen of the PIC -- resulted from a tendering confusion that occurred in February.

“When the media reported about the cancellation of the tender in February the board became furious and questioned the importance of the media’s involvement in the tendering process, they did not think it was necessary,” said the sources.

As to why the tender opening has been being treated as a secret in the past two months, PIC general manager Michael Mjinja said: “I cannot comment on the issue, but it must be clear that we do not prevent anyone from attending the tender opening process.”

When asked why the PIC has not been inviting the media as it used to do before, Mr Mjinja said: “Let me see when the next tender closing and opening event will take place, after I am sure of the event I will see if we can invite the media.”

The Citizen was hinted that the next tender opening will be held today but until yesterday there was no invitation sent out to the media.

When Mr Mjinja was asked to confirm whether the tender closing and opening exercise would be done today, he said: “I arrived in the office yesterday (Sunday) from home where I had gone for a funeral give me time to cross-check.”

Upon being contacted for comments the PIC Board chairman, Mr Andilile James, last week, he said: “I’m currently on my way to Dodoma, I will call you back once I arrive there.” He, however, did not call back. When he was called the next day, he said: “I’m just coming out of a parliamentary session, I will call you back.” But he did not. Follow up calls were not picked either.

The last public tender opening process was in February, this year when the PIC revoked the results which saw VITOL SA named the winner of the ninth bulky oil procurement tender.

The firm was to deliver 273,500 Metric tonnes of petroleum products for March consumption. It was declared the winner after the first three bidders who offered the most competitive prices failed to meet the required tendering criteria.

 

VITOL SA offered premium price worth $52.988 per metric tonne higher than Augusta Energy SA, Gunvor SA and Gapco Tanzania Ltd who offered $41.192 per metric tonne, $48.604 per metric tonne and $48.770 per metric tonne weighted average prices respectively. After that the PIC did not involve the media in the tender opening process but only organised a press conference in March to announce the winner.

Since March PIC has not invited the media to its tender closing and opening process raising alarms of whether there was a hidden agenda.

“We’re talking about public money not someone’s money, I think the public is entitled to know the whole tender process,” said a petroleum products trader who declined to be named because he is not the spokesman.

PIC was established in September 2010 under the Petroleum Act for the purpose of coordinating all issues pertaining to the bulk procurement of oil in the country.