Author: kaparah
Mon Nov 24 23:41:42 2008

Then do it, instead of all these procrastination. Geez!!! They have been saying this for over one year, now, that the issue becoming a sign-song unless yar wants to score another political point with all these dribs & drabs. But whoever is the decision maker on this effort better make sure they get the project started and completed on time b4 another global crisis affects the value of the project. If the Nigerian govt has a credible Attorney in their Contracts Office to read and interpret contracts legalese vis-ŕ-vis counter-offers to realize that modifications and revocations of a fully-executed, two-party agreement cannot be one-sided but bi-lateral. If one party revokes any part of its obligation, it relieves the other party from its entire obligation until the 2 parties reach a new agreement or a meeting of the mind to modify by removing the inflated portion of the original agrmt. For instance, if the Fed Govt proposes plan B (a counter-offer), it is up to the Chinese govt to either accept or reject Nigeria's counter offer. The Chinese may come up with their own counter-offer and so forth….. Moreover our Negotiator should also read the fine prints of the agreement for Liquidated Damages which may impose penalties on a party that reneges on its side of the agreement - that is how our $5 Billion Loan ballooned into a $36 Billion debt within a span of 20 years of procrastination on our debt repayment. Also, has the Fed Govt shopped around for a better deal b4 it cancels this? Nobody says Yar should not revoke an inflated contract but has he done due-diligence and adequate research to see if he could get a better deal elsewhere?

Moreover, it’s not necessarily the cheapest offer that matters but the most cost effective. It is one thing to do a shoddy work at lower cost; it is another to complete a project that would last a lifetime with little maintenance works, afterwards. It is one thing to get commitment from a supplier that would have the materials for you upon demand, it is another to order and have to wait till the supplier is ready for your demand while we burn our idle labor cost while waiting for the materials to arrive from the supplier. Those are some of the parameters (among others) that go into 3-bids' Comparative Analysis b4 you select the most cost-benefit offeror. What I would recommend for future contracts negotiations is to ensure that our negotiator prices out usage of foreign workers (except expertise that we lack at home) so that the bulk of the workforce on this project would be Nigerians. This way, we can utilize our unemployed youth from which they can gain practical experience that could be applied to future projects. Having Chinese laborers imported to Nigeria to do the work that Nigerians can do while our youth stand idle is counter-productive. The govt could tax Nigerian laborers' income that could be used in their job training and/or for the purpose of funding other projects. That way, we get good return on our bids yet keep our youth busy in productive work from which they can learn by doing other than brainless jobs like being Okada drivers. Good Luck.




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