The Administrative Tribunal of Maputo City has suspended the process to award a 25-year concession for the Machipanda border post with Zimbabwe, preventing the contract from being signed pending judicial review.
The decision follows a challenge by SAFAGA, which disputes the criteria used to evaluate the bids, the reasoning behind the award, the experience and financial capacity of the winning consortium, as well as the composition of the tender evaluation committee.
During the evaluation process, Union Energy/Zhongmei scored 86 points, compared with 81 awarded to SAFAGA. The company challenged the application of the criteria set out in the tender, raising questions about the procedures that determined the final ranking..
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The dispute also concerns João Matlombe’s involvement at the administrative appeal stage. Meanwhile, the Ministry sought to challenge the jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal of Maputo City to hear the case, an argument that was ultimately rejected.
According to the material submitted in the proceedings, the Ministry failed to demonstrate that temporarily suspending the concession could cause serious harm to the public interest, one of the factors considered when assessing the measure
Another point of contention concerns access to the tender documentation. The Ministry postponed the release of the evaluation committee’s minutes, scoring sheets and technical assessments, citing pending proceedings and confidentiality concerns.
Separately, SAFAGA filed a complaint with the Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption (GCCC), alleging possible unethical practices during the evaluation of the bids. The allegations remain subject to investigation by the competent authorities and do not, in themselves, constitute proof of wrongdoing.
The concession, which involves an estimated investment of around 2.378 billion meticais, has also raised questions about its economic viability and the assumptions underpinning the project.
With the suspension in place, the signing of the contract remains subject to judicial review, while the evaluation criteria, transparency of the tender and justification for selecting the winning consortium remain under dispute.
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Source: MzNews