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| P&S Director's decision on MMM's appeal upheld (July 13, 1999) - OPA, in its recent decision (BP-A018) released on July 13, 1999, upheld the decision of the Director of Procurement and Supply regarding the appeal of Marianas Marine Management, Inc. (MMM) pertaining to the granting of a concession to operate on Managaha Island. Decision Summary MMM, represented by its Legal Counsel Jesus C. Borja, appealed the denial of its protest concerning the Board of Public Lands' (BPL) solicitation of proposals for the grant of a concession to operate on Managaha Island (Managaha). The protest was denied by the Division of Procurement & Supply (P&S) for lack of jurisdiction. Appellant MMM claims that BPL's solicitation of proposals for the operation of Managaha is covered by the CNMI Procurement Regulations (CNMI-PR) and should fall under the jurisdiction of P&S. The appellant argues that the jurisdiction of P&S is not limited to only the expenditure of public funds but also includes the sale, trade or other disposal of real and personal property. We agree with the protest decision that the P&S Director has no jurisdiction over this matter. We have concluded that the solicitation issued by BPL is not an official RFP where a contract is to be awarded, and therefore is not covered by the CNMI-PR. The solicitation merely asked for ideas which DPL stated would be used to formulate criteria for a later RFP. Even if we assume, for purposes of discussion, that the BPL solicitation was an official RFP from which a contract results, we would still conclude that such an RFP is not within the jurisdiction of the CNMI-PR. We believe that the award of a concession is not "a sale or other disposal of real and personal property" under the definition of "goods" in the CNMI-PR. Additionally, the award of a concession does not involve expenditure of public funds and does not fall within the definition of "procurement" in the CNMI-PR.
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