Minister Khaw defends NParks' bicycles purchase
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ST reported that the bicycles have been taken back from its staff.
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Originally posted by βÎτά:
Sex for bicycles scandal?
Sex on bicycles scandal?
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haiya...bicycle only !!but if cost is too much then forget it...nowadays,modern bicycles thats made in china is like $120 from factory and can be purchased over internet from china manufacturer!
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if they are going to ebay the bromptons i wanna buy
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Originally posted by ditzy:
ST reported that the bicycles have been taken back from its staff.
That's not good.
They have to be ferried around in vans again or take public transport ?
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Originally posted by Army 21:
haiya...bicycle only !!but if cost is too much then forget it...nowadays,modern bicycles thats made in china is like $120 from factory and can be purchased over internet from china manufacturer!
Must be very light, so can carry, foldable even better.
But how would you feel ah, if cut transport, take bus or MRT to work site, carry the bicycle about some more. No pay rise, but the bicycle cost $2,200.00.
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Originally posted by mancha:
Must be very light, so can carry, foldable even better.
But how would you feel ah, if cut transport, take bus or MRT to work site, carry the bicycle about some more. No pay rise, but the bicycle cost $2,200.00.
You can carry the bike around and feel very rich.
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Everyday.
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NParks officer suspended, bike vendor advised to stop tours as Ministry calls for internal audit into tender for foldable bikes
$57,200 bike tender goes downhill
"MND has decided that the discrepancies were significant and warrant further investigation . Meanwhile, the NParks officer responsible for the transaction has been suspended from duty.
-Statement from MND
REPORT: BENSON ANG
AN OFFICER with the National Parks Board (NParks) has been suspended from duty following probe by the Ministry of National Development(MND):And BikeHop, the vendor which sealed the deal to supply 26 bikes to NParks, has been advised to stop the cycling tours it organises for tourists.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB told The New Paper that such tours require a licence.
Its spokesman said: "In the case of BikeHop, an advisory has already been issued to the company. STB will monitor the situation closely to ensure compliance by BikeHop and take enforcement actions as and when required".
NParks bought the Brompton foldable bikes for its officers to use on patrols after a tender was issued in January.
The bikes cost $57,200 in total.
In a statement last night, MND said Minister Khaw Boon Wan called for an internal audit team to work with NParks to review the purchase last month.
It was to ascertain if the purchase was justified and to see if its procurement process could be improved.
The internal audit found that the reasons for purchasing foldable bikes to enhance work productivity of NParks' field staff were valid, the statement said.
But the audit also uncovered some discrepancies which suggested "the possibility of bias in the procurement", although the discrepancies were inconclusive by themselves.
The statement said: "MND has decided that the discrepancies were significant and warrant further investigation.
"Meanwhile, the NParks officer responsible for the transaction has been suspended from duty."
MND said NParks officer Bernard Lim was overseeing the procurement of the Brompton bikes.
A manager at NPark's park connector network invited companies to bid for the tender in January.
This tender was eventually awarded to bicycle shop BikeHop. The controversy erupted after Lianhe Zaobao reported on the purchase on June 22 and wrote about it in a commentary two days later.
The New Paper then reported on June 29 about the disquiet that followed the purchase. Some people felt that, at $2,200 each, the bicycles were too expensive and a waste of public funds.
MND investigations
By then, MND was already conducting its own investigation.
But online, the saga continued.
Some wanted to know more about the relationship between the directors of BikeHop and the NParks officer involved in the tender process.
One netizen, who identified himself as a concerned citizen, claimed about two weeks ago that Mr Bernard Lim is Facebook friends with BikeHop and its three directors.
Responding to TNP queries, the MND spokesman said: "On July 10, NParks discovered links between Bernard Lim and the owners of BikeHop in Bernard's Facebook account
"However, Bernard's FB account was also found to have nearly 300 other 'friends', including other bike suppliers and vendors as well as many other biking enthusiasts.
"Bernard was a known biking enthusiast.
"Nevertheless, inquiries persisted and subsequently certain discrepancies were uncovered which led to the decision to suspend Bernard from duty and to proceed with further investigation."
Too little time, single bid?
But there were other questions - was there enough time for others to put in a bid?
The invitation to quote a bid was published on government procurement portal GeBiz on Jan 25, which was the third day of Chinese New Year.
The closing date to quote was on Jan 30. During this period, BikeHop was the only bidder.
"Concerned citizen" told TNP that he was trying to alert the relevant authorities to relook the issue since many Singaporeans had expressed their unhappiness with it online.
He made his posting about two weeks ago.
While the NParks officer may have been suspended, focus is also on BikeHop after STB advised it to stop its cycling tours because it does not have a Travel Agents (TA) licence.
STB said it will not hesitate to take action against those who flout the rules and if convicted, they can be jailed up to six months and/ or fined up to $5,000.
Ride hops stopped
BikeHop's management announced on its website last week that it had stopped providing guided rides.
It said: "BikeHop riders will not be able to ride with you for the time being. We are working on resuming our guided ride services to you."
When contacted, BikeHop's managing director, Mr lawrence Lim, said: "We have responded to STB's advisory and have updated our website.
"When we have decided on our plans, we will share them with the authorities to ensure there won't be any more violation."
Regarding MND's investigations, Mr Lim said: "It is good that the matter is investigated further. Hopefully, this will put an end to the speculation online.
"We will cooperate with the authorities."
Mr Lim declined further comment.
Some wonder if NParks could have got better deal
THE National Parks Board (NParks) bought 26 foldable Brompton bicycles for its officers to use on patrols earlier this year.
The purchase was first reported in Lianhe Zaobao on June 22, which also wrote about it in a commentary on June 24.
Some people then asked if the chosen bikes-which cost $2,200 each - were too expensive.
The purchase attracted much attention in online forums.
Some pointed out that BikeHop - the company NParks bought the bikes from - is not the authorised distributor of Brompton bikes in Singapore.The official dealer is Diginexx.
Others wondered if NParks could have found a better deal if it had looked harder.
But NParks said it adhered to government procurement requirements when buying the bicycles.
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post earlier this month that while he has no quarrel with the choice of the bikes for NParks' Staff, the stat board may have secured a better price if there had been more participation in the bike deal.
He said: "I have asked MND (Ministry of National Development) staff to discuss this case with our agencies, to see if there are lessons which we can draw from this case.
"In all purchases we should always satisfy the criteria of 'value for money' when public funds are involved."
NParks replies to TNP's queries
Why were there only three working days as the quotation period?
A: NParks' quotation was open for six days, which included four working days.
This was allowed for such purchases under current rules.
However, on hindsight, NParks agrees that it would have been better to open the quotation for a longer period so as to increase the opportunity and chances of more bidders participating.
Why wasn't the tender process extended in order to allow for more bidders?
A: As the proposal submitted met the specifications and the quoted price was found to be reasonable after comparing it with market prices at that time, NParks decided to proceed with the purchase instead of calling for a re-tender to secure more bidder participation.
On hindsight, greater prudence should have been exercised to do so.
How does the Ministry respond to charges that the specifications called for were so specific,onty one (type of) bicycle could fit the requirements? For example, weight of between 11-13kg, 16-inch wheels,etc.
A: As far as we are aware, this is not true.
Based on NParks' product search and findings, there are at least four foldable bikes that met the required specifications within the budget range.
These are namely Flamingo, Dahon, Brompton and Bike Friday. They are cqmparable in prices, with some bearing a higher price tag than the Brompton bike model procured.
What changes will MND be instituting with regards to the procurement process?
A: MND is working with NParks as well as other MND agencies to consider ways to strengthen our procurement controls for tenders and quotations.
For a start, we have imposed additional oversight requirements where single bids in any tenders are involved.
Appropriate approving authorities and proper justifications will be required over and above the current prbcurement procedures, to ensure that single bid awards are an exception to the rule and when accepted, are confirmed after critical assessment to be reasonable and justifiable.
We are also reviewing, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, other aspects of our procurement system like the tender/quotation duration and are working towards an internal procurement guide to advise and guide our officers in their purchases.
We will continue our efforts to ensure that prudence is always exercised in the use of public funds.
We are mindful that government purchases need to be justified on a cost-benefit basis, that the procurement process must be open and fair, and that decisions taken satisfy the criteria of value for money.
News, The New Paper, Wednesday, July 25 2012, Pg 2-3
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Originally posted by charlize:
You can carry the bike around and feel very rich.
Bike don't belong to them, see they have been taken back, no chance to report bike 'stolen' even.
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The NPark choose to keep the bicycle "temporary" because every government organization had an internal audit verified by some auditor like from Auditor General Office. Who want to take the risk if one of the bike was "missing", at least lock it up nobody can "arrow" them anything.
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Originally posted by mancha:
Bike don't belong to them, see they have been taken back, no chance to report bike 'stolen' even.
Maybe while on duty, they need to go to the loo so park the bike some place.
Don't tell me have to fold the bike and bring it with them to the toilet .
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Originally posted by FireIce:
if they are going to ebay the bromptons i wanna buy
How much you willing to bid ?
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FI celebrating birthday for the whole month.
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buy and buy...
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khaw shot his own foot.
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Hope MND can "request" the vendor to rescind the contract if they know what's good for them.
But folding bikes with tiny wheels are tiring to ride. Extremely unproductive.
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If the minister said it is justified, perhaps he can pay for the bike out of his own pockets.
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khaw khaw khaw
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I don't get it.
If everything is okay, then why call cpib and why suspend the staff?
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Minister Khaw Boon Wan convinced foldable bikes are warranted
SINGAPORE: Minister Khaw Boon Wan touched on the issue of the Brompton bikes bought by NParks.
He revealed that he recently went along with the officers while they did their inspection rounds.
He's convinced that for the type of work the officers do, foldable bikes are warranted.
Mr Khaw said it's the right call to buy foldable bicycles but how it's acquired is a different story.
"You go up and down natural terrain, it was very hard on my bottoms, after just a couple of hours riding with them; and then because the park connector goes through areas which are quite remote, and sometimes you've got to cross the road using overhead bridge, and they have to carry the bikes with them. That's why just now I was trying to lift these cheaper bikes which are not foldable, it's not easy," he explained.
- CNA/ck -
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Originally posted by FireIce:
khaw shot his own foot.
was his foot in his mouth at that time?
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"You go up and down natural terrain, it was very hard on my bottoms, after just a couple of hours riding with them; and then because the park connector goes through areas which are quite remote, and sometimes you've got to cross the road using overhead bridge, and they have to carry the bikes with them. That's why just now I was trying to lift these cheaper bikes which are not foldable, it's not easy," he explained.
One word: WEAK.