Unfair Clauses in Government Tender Specifications

Parliamentary Question by Mr Ang Wei Neng:

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will advise all Government agencies to avoid having unfair clauses in all Government tender specifications, in view of the feedback from the Singapore Institute of Architects on the unfair clauses in the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ tender documents.

Parliamentary Reply by Second Minister for Finance, Ms Indranee Rajah:

Government agencies are required to conduct procurements in a fair manner. To guide agencies, the Ministry of Finance provides templates with contractual terms and conditions which set out the responsibilities of the parties. These templates are developed in consultation with key sector agencies to reflect industry norms, particularly for major categories like construction and ICT. For example, the Standard Consultancy Agreement, or SCA, used by Government agencies for construction-related consultancy services, states that agencies will pay for additional services not covered by the contract.