Mohamed Alpheus Turay
As Blackmail Efforts Crumble…
IPRP SLAMS PHEUS TURAY’S ‘UNRULY’ CONDUCT
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
Tiwai Memory Masters Ltd (TMM) has hit a brick wall in its challenge against the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), after the Independent Procurement Review Panel (IPRP) dismissed the company’s complaint and upheld the 88.86% technical score awarded to it in the World Bank-funded GWAN/GLAN procurement process.
In a decisive ruling dated October 6, 2026, the IPRP concluded that the Evaluation Committee acted properly in scoring TMM’s technical proposal, declaring that the 88.86% mark was “fair and correct” and that deductions were supported by deficiencies contained in the company’s own bid.
The dispute centres on the procurement for the supply, installation, implementation and support of Government Wide Area Networks (GWAN) and Government Local Area Networks (GLANs) across Ministries, Departments and Agencies under the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project.
TMM had strongly disputed its 88.86% technical score, maintaining that its own assessment of the proposal produced a score of approximately 96%. It subsequently sought redress from the IPRP, arguing that the procuring entity had failed to adequately explain how and why marks were deducted.
But following scrutiny of documentary evidence and oral submissions from both parties, the independent Panel rejected TMM’s challenge and upheld the Evaluation Committee’s decision.
“The mark allocated to the Complainant was fair and correct, taking into account all the arithmetic calculations and the evaluation process carried out,” the Panel ruled, adding that each deduction was supported by deficiencies documented in TMM’s proposal and measured against the RFP’s rated criteria.
The ruling represents a significant vindication for MoCTI and the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project following weeks of controversy surrounding the procurement process and TMM’s challenge to its technical score.
During the proceedings, the Respondent provided detailed explanations for the deductions, pointing to what it described as inconsistent vendor terminology and equipment models, generic security and high-availability plans, insufficient differentiation between GLAN solutions for small, medium and large organisations, inadequate device-level architecture and weaknesses in regional metro-network coverage and resilience.
One of the major issues highlighted involved TMM’s regional fibre-network proposal. According to the Respondent’s submissions recorded in the ruling, TMM designed approximately 61.4 kilometres of fibre against the 208 kilometres specified in the procurement requirements and omitted Port Loko from its proposed network.
The proposal was also said to lack a clear list of MDAs to be connected and sufficient redundancy to meet the required failover standard.
The Respondent further highlighted conflicting equipment model numbers, missing technical details and portions of material said to have been copied or adapted from other vendors or projects.
Despite those weaknesses, TMM was not disqualified. Instead, the Evaluation Committee deducted marks under the relevant rated criteria while crediting areas where the company demonstrated strengths.
The proceedings took another dramatic turn when the IPRP raised its own concern over the curriculum vitae of Rashid Abu, one of the personnel presented by TMM.
According to the Panel, Abu was presented as having been in TMM’s employment for the past 10 years, while the Panel found that he was working for the Central Bank of Sierra Leone.
“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 ruling stated.
The Panel described the issue in even stronger terms, declaring that the “singular act save for the rest is tantamount to fraud and must be stopped immediately.”
TMM representative Mohamed A. Turay also came under sharp criticism from the IPRP over his conduct during the proceedings.
The Panel said Turay made derogatory remarks against the Respondent and subsequently directed similar remarks at the Panel, including comments which it said appeared to predict the outcome of the hearing and question its integrity.
“We are in a civilized world and such sittings here as a Panel must be civil and decent,” the IPRP stated, warning Turay to desist from such conduct.
The Panel, however, emphasised that Turay’s remarks did not influence its final determination, maintaining that its decision was based on the documentary evidence, oral submissions and applicable law.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, the IPRP dismissed TMM’s complaint and formally confirmed its technical score of 88.86 out of 100, rejecting the company’s attempt to overturn the Evaluation Committee’s assessment.
The Panel further lifted with immediate effect any suspension of the procurement process arising from the complaint and directed the Respondent to continue with the opening of financial proposals and eventual award of the contract in accordance with the RFP and applicable procurement regulations.
TMM nevertheless remains eligible to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process, as the Panel did not order its disqualification.
The IPRP also underscored the national importance of the World Bank-funded project, expressing concern that the procurement dispute should not result in the World Bank withholding or withdrawing an opportunity considered beneficial to Sierra Leone.
With TMM’s complaint dismissed, MoCTI’s disputed evaluation upheld and the suspension lifted, the ruling clears the way for the GWAN/GLAN procurement process to move forward.