Garbage contracts to Be re-tendered after all bids were non-compliant

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Patrice Gumbs announced today that St. Maarten’s garbage collection contracts will have to be retendered after the evaluation of submitted bids found discrepancies and non-compliance across all applications. The Minister did not expound in detail on exactly how the bids were non-compliant.

According to the Minister, 17 bids were received for the solid waste tender. He explained that the first 11 bidders were excluded during the evaluation phase for failing to follow the required procedures, while the remaining six were also disqualified because their submissions did not meet the terms of reference outlined in the tender documents.

“As you recall, I made announcements in January that 17 bids were received,” Gumbs said. “All the bidders had discrepancies. The first 11, following the evaluation process, were immediately excluded from the bidding process for not following the proper procedures. The remaining six did not follow the terms of reference as mentioned in the tender document, which automatically knocked out all bids from consideration.”

Gumbs said legal advice was sought immediately after the issues were identified, but the discrepancies in the information used in the tender process meant the submitted bids could not be fairly or properly considered.

“This ultimately means that the solid waste contracts will have to be retendered,” the Minister said.

He further disclosed that a third party has been contracted to review how the initial tender process failed. More details, he said, will be shared once a new tender is finalized. In the meantime, the contracting team is working to finalize an interim arrangement for a period of three months to ensure continuity of service until the new tender process is completed. The Minister also did not say what this interim arrangement would look like.

Gumbs thanked the waste haulers for their patience and commended the ministry team for its work over the past several months, noting that solid waste management remains a major undertaking, particularly as government continues restructuring the waste sector. That restructuring includes plans for a waste authority, adjustments to the payment structure, and consideration of the framework that will guide the new contracts.

The Minister also addressed questions about whether the failed tender process was caused by government error or by the absence of an approved 2026 national budget.

“Let me clarify once again, no, this has nothing to do from government side,” Gumbs said. “The fact that we don’t have 2026 budget is also not a problem. This has been discussed and already validated by the relevant authorities that in the national interest these contracts could have been issued.”

He reiterated that the need to retender arose from the shortcomings in the submissions received, not from any failure on the part of government, while emphasizing that the independent third-party review would also support further investigation into the matter.

On district cleaning, which is being handled as a separate pending tender, Gumbs said government has decided to restructure the scope of work in order to improve efficiency. That process will also be supported by a three-month interim arrangement.

During the interim period, district cleaning will be managed by the contracting team using government rates and with verification that participating companies are properly registered as cleaning companies. Government will rely on contractors it has worked with in the past, along with current district cleaners.

The Minister said the first month of the interim district cleaning arrangement will focus on main roads, public beaches, cemeteries, and public schools.

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