It angers me too!! Who is this government representing? A NZ firm could have built it for $14m with $9m in GDP & provided 127 jobs for a year.. And I would trust it to be a better quality job too! The governments decision to award a US$6.6 million (NZ$8m) ferry contract to a Bangladesh company rather than a local boat builder is another blow to the New Zealand marine industry already in survival mode, say local boat builders. Twelve shipyards from Australia, Bangladesh, China, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore submitted tenders for the 43-metre vessel. The new ferry is a replacement destined for the New Zealand territory of Tokelau and capable of carrying 60 passengers and 50 tonnes of freight. Bangladesh firm Western Marine Shipyard was eventually picked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to build the ferry. Executive director of NZ Marine Peter Busfield said the Governments new procurement rules ignore any economic gain from having this vessel built here versus by an overseas yard. We believe the Governments procurement requirements are fundamentally flawed as the process does not factor in the economic gain to the country of buying New Zealand made versus importing, Busfield said. New procurement regulations came into effect in October last year, designed to make it easier for smaller kiwi companies to tender for Government contracts and provide better value for money for taxpayers. What Government procurement needs to come down to is who can deliver the best value for taxpayers money rather than who is best at dealing with Government officials and this is what these new rules will deliver, Economic Development minister Steven Joyce said last year. Busfield said during 18 months of talks between NZ Marine and MFAT, government officers confirmed the new regulation did not require the government to consider any economic gain to New Zealand for buying kiwi-made. What really concerns us as taxpayers and representing one of New Zealands largest manufacturing sectors, is that the New Zealand Government is not considering the total picture for the procurement of the Tokelau ferry, he said.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Jan 2014 02:30:06 +0000
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