Police 'shoe polish' irregularity

Allegations have been made that irregularities occurred in the awarding of the tender for the procurement of black shoe polish for the Sri Lanka Police, benefiting certain individuals. In April last year, the Police Department invited tenders for the purchase of 350,000 tins of black shoe polish, and among the six bidders, the company that submitted the lowest bid was selected in September last year.

This company, with an address on Sri Sangharaja Mawatha, Colombo 10, won the tender with a bid of Rs. 110 per tin, excluding VAT.

The total procurement cost, including VAT, is Rs. 45,430,000, and the selected supplier is expected to procure the shoe polish stock from China. However, after the tender was awarded, allegations have been made that fundamental operational guidelines established under Sri Lanka's 2006 Government Procurement Guidelines and Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) have been violated. This includes non-compliance with mandatory sample submission requirements, irregular overriding of Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) decisions, violation of the code of ethics, and acting beyond authority.

Commenting on this matter, a senior official from the supply division of the Police Department stated that the tender was awarded properly in accordance with regulations and that no irregularities occurred in the tender process. Meanwhile, police officers serving in the force have had to use any other available polish to keep their footwear shiny, as they have not received their due quota of shoe polish.