SHAMEFUL!
IPRP EXPOSES FRAUD IN TIWAI’S BID
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
A shamefully-shameful finding has emerged against Tiwai Memory Masters Ltd (TMM) after the Independent Procurement Review Panel (IPRP) questioned information presented about one of the company’s proposed personnel and declared that the act was “tantamount to fraud.”
The finding forms part of the IPRP’s October 6, 2026 ruling on TMM’s complaint against the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project under the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI) over the company’s 88.86% technical score in the World Bank-funded GWAN/GLAN procurement.
At the centre of the Panel’s concern is Rashid Abu, whose curriculum vitae was presented as part of TMM’s bid.
According to the IPRP ruling, TMM presented Abu as having been in its employment for the past 10 years. However, during its examination of the documents, the Panel found that Abu was working for the Central Bank of Sierra Leone and questioned how he could simultaneously be presented as being in full-time employment with TMM.
The Panel said bidders participating in public procurement processes must provide accurate information about personnel proposed to undertake projects.
“We found that Rashid Abu working for the Central Bank of Sierra Leone cannot at the same time be in a full-time employment with the Complainant,” the IPRP stated.
The Panel then made its strongest pronouncement on the matter, declaring: “The singular act save for the rest is tantamount to fraud and must be stopped immediately.”
The finding is particularly significant because the issue was raised by the independent Panel itself while examining TMM’s challenge to the technical evaluation, rather than being the central allegation originally brought before it by MoCTI.
TMM had approached the IPRP seeking to overturn or obtain redress over the 88.86% technical score awarded by the Evaluation Committee for the procurement covering the supply, installation, implementation and support of Government Wide Area Networks (GWAN) and Government Local Area Networks (GLANs) across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The company maintained that its own assessment of its technical proposal produced a score of approximately 96% and argued that the procuring entity had failed to adequately justify the deductions that reduced its score to 88.86%.
But after reviewing the documentary evidence and hearing oral submissions from both sides, the IPRP rejected TMM’s complaint and concluded that the score awarded by the Evaluation Committee was “fair and correct.”
According to the Panel, each deduction was supported by deficiencies documented in TMM’s own proposal and measured against the rated criteria contained in the Request for Proposals.
Beyond the personnel issue involving Rashid Abu, the proceedings highlighted several weaknesses identified in TMM’s technical submission, including inconsistencies in vendor terminology and equipment models, inadequate device-level architecture, generic security and high-availability plans and insufficient differentiation between network requirements for small, medium and large organisations.
Questions were also raised about TMM’s regional metro-network proposal. The Respondent told the Panel that the company proposed approximately 61.4 kilometres of fibre against the 208 kilometres specified in the procurement requirements and omitted Port Loko from its proposed design.
The Panel also took exception to the conduct of TMM representative Mohamed A. Turay during the hearing, accusing him of making derogatory remarks against the Respondent and subsequently against the IPRP itself.
According to the ruling, Turay made remarks that appeared to predict the outcome of the proceedings and question the integrity of the Panel. The IPRP warned him to desist from such conduct, while stressing that the remarks did not influence its final decision.
Ultimately, the IPRP dismissed TMM’s complaint and confirmed the 88.86 out of 100 technical score awarded by the Evaluation Committee, effectively vindicating MoCTI and the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project on the disputed evaluation.
The Panel also lifted any suspension of the procurement process arising from TMM’s complaint and directed the procuring entity to proceed with the opening of financial proposals and eventual award of the contract in accordance with the RFP and applicable procurement regulations.
Despite the Panel’s strongly worded finding regarding the personnel information, TMM was not disqualified. The IPRP expressly ruled that the company remains eligible to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process.
The ruling therefore leaves two significant outcomes: TMM failed in its attempt to overturn its 88.86% technical score, while the independent review itself uncovered a personnel-related issue that the Panel described as “tantamount to fraud.”