Requete may be used to force debate on food waste contract

He accused the States’ Trading Supervisory Board of being unwilling to talk to other deputies about an unnamed company which claims it could save the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds by dealing with the island’s food waste at no cost to the States and parishes.

‘A key function of all [deputies] is to satisfy ourselves that the best value for money solution will be taken forward for the benefit of our community, and it was in this spirit that the meetings were requested,’ said Deputy Meerveld.

‘I find this lack of willingness to engage with fellow deputies and discuss their concerns to be very disappointing.

‘The concerns I share with other deputies is that the States and its procurement processes are effectively creating commercial monopolies which may not benefit our community and disadvantage excluded local businesses.’

STSB president Peter Roffey claimed he had ‘bent over backwards’ to give the local company a fair chance of bidding for the new food waste contract.

But he said that the outcome of the tender process, which was won by another company, should now be accepted.

‘The principals of the company complained to the [States] chief executive that three of my officers were biased against them. It was fully investigated and decided there was no case to answer,’ said Deputy Roffey.

‘Dissatisfied with that, they re-complained. He brought in a retired chief inspector to look at it, they were examined under oath, and the case was not just dismissed – there was no case to answer whatsoever.

‘We have just been through an objective tendering process. We would have anyway, but partially because we knew these sort of allegations were being thrown, the

whole process had injected into it dispassionate outside expertise in this area, that had nothing to do with STSB, to assess all the various bids and the technology involved.’

Deputy John Dyke claimed that appeals against the tender process had been mishandled.

‘I’ve been informed there was an appeal by the same person effectively to himself, coming back with the same result. There weren’t independent appeals,’ he said.

Deputy Dyke told the States that the company with which he was in contact was offering a technique used elsewhere in the world, where flies break down food waste and produce fertiliser.

‘They’ve been trying to get the attention of STSB, but are being continually blocked.

‘I think this is quite a serious matter. I don’t want to hear about procedures. I want a proper discussion on this subject.’

After the row was revealed in the Assembly yesterday, Deputy Meerveld indicated that he may accelerate the submission of a requete for deputies ‘to debate the issues and direct a more open and competitive approach if they so decide’.

Deputy Meerveld voluntarily showed the Guernsey Press an email late yesterday which he inadvertently sent to Deputy Roffey in May, where he speculated that the STSB president ‘will not like the prospect of being painted the villain, undermining local businesses, and may acquiesce before the debate’.

Deputy Meerveld had intended to send the email to the principals of the company concerned.

‘I believe we will... get your site authorised. This will not get you the official contract but will enable you to compete,’ he wrote in the email.