Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) has selected 14 companies in the first phase of the tender to acquire two lots of Embraer 190 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft, all of them in an unspecified number..

According to a Savannah newspaperIn a press release, which quotes a communication from the airline, LAM announced the notification of the 14 shortlisted entities to submit technical and financial proposals for subsequent evaluation and a decision on who will be awarded the contract.

Of the 14 competitors, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, China, the USA, Brazil, Libya and South Africa, among others, stand out in a scenario in which all continents are represented.

At national level, only one company called Helirescue24africa LDA competed, represented by Stephen Chituku, a Zimbabwean citizen. The company is a sole proprietorship, registered in 2018, and has a share capital of 100,000 meticais.

The same publication points out that LAM's public tender is shrouded in controversy due to various irregularities and inconsistencies, leading many people to consider it a tender for the English to see.

The announcement deals with the same expression of interest and the submission of tenders, with very tight deadlines (7 days) in a large-scale process which, as a general rule, takes around 25 days. Furthermore, the document talks about acquiring five aircraft. The shareholders are talking about acquiring eight, while the government, in its 100-day governance plan, is committed to acquiring three aircraft.

Publicly there are no specifications as to whether the aircraft are new or second-hand, in order to facilitate the expression of interest proposal. The lack of clarity in the evaluation criteria raises a number of suspicions that decisions have already been made.

(Photo DR)