‘No leniency, time to be firm’

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In many years for the first time I felt an overwhelming happiness creep into me while reading the list of construction companies and consulting engineering offices that the Central Tenders Committee, through a high government decision, has deprived from participating into any future tenders at least for the next four years.

Although I do not know exactly what these companies and offices have done, other than a well-known engineering firm, known for its grave violations and a large contracting company because of its poor professional history, I know very well that our ‘good-hearted’ government cannot take such harsh action against owners of these companies, including leaders of religious parties who have long exploited their political leadership and influence to fatten their bank accounts, often without right, if the government was not fully confident of the enormity of their mistakes.

If they had done the same in other countries, the punishment would be indescribably severe.

Thus it was absurd and almost cunning when one of those affected asked who would bear the cost of a decision to stop his office from participating in the tenders. He pointed out cunningly that the decision was issued by minister Jenan Bushehri while he is fully aware that the minister is honest and impartial. I say here that a decision like that cannot be taken by a minister alone with our due respect for the Minister.

We should not forget that the engineering certificate held by some of the owners of these affected offices only entitles them to open machine workshops or to work in oil refineries and not in the management of engineering offices that deal with business projects worth tens of millions of dinars.

One of the owners of one of these offices proudly mentioned one day that over 200 engineers work in his office.

They have the right to ask who will pay for the decision to prevent their offices or companies from bidding in the projects, but we also have the right to ask who will pay for the large engineering damage caused by the mistakes of their contractors, engineering offices and catastrophic supervision?

The issuance of the decision and its implementation to stop companies and engineering offices from participating in any government tenders are considered to be a moral earthquake in a country where officials have historically overlooked or tolerated the mistakes and errors of many contracting companies and advisory offices, and perhaps even tolerated their crimes.

I say this from my long and practical banking experience and in contracting work for a while before I leave it to those who know how and why? And who pays? Thus, this step should be blessed, perhaps as a beginning of fighting rampant corruption in an important sector the largest and the oldest historically in manipulating the rights of the state.

All the licenses of engineering offices owned by those who do not have a certificate in architecture or at least in civil engineering must be reconsidered and even canceled. Chaos and disarray that we see now must end. As we say this we hope the issue of leniency will be put on the backburner as we move forward with all seriousness and a firm attitude.

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By Ahmad alsarraf

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