KUCHING: Transparency practices are crucial among local authorities, particularly in selecting contractors for development projects.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng provided an example, stating that after the council goes through the tender and quotation process; the management opens the tender forms to all tenderers and then passes them back for evaluation.
“After that, we will call for a tender board meeting. For instance, if we have 10 tenderers for a development project, one might be recalled, and three others might not meet the requirements.
“From there, we can see that if the tenderers are following our requirements, we will hand the project to them,” he told a press conference for the upcoming Kuching Got Talent 2024 at the MBKS building on Tuesday.
“Just like the Kuching Food Festival, when we select the stalls, we invite the public to help us pick and choose the best.
“For us at MBKS, we maintain an outstanding performance because we are doing it for the wellbeing of Kuching city and its people,” he added.
Recently, the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) had reminded all agencies under its purview, especially local authorities, to implement all projects with allocations in a prudent and transparent manner and in compliance with set standards.
Minister Nga Kor Ming said that each state, through its local authorities, received a significant allocation from the ministry to implement projects vital for community development.
He also said that allocations were based on the local authority’s performance, and stern action would be taken if any local authority failed to achieve the set performance.
“Previously, there were claims of not receiving allocations, but now they have been given… so there are no more excuses.
“If you don’t perform, we will issue a caution letter to the responsible officer, and allocations for the next year will be cut to send a message that they need to reach their performance targets,” he added.
