Guyana
Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo stated that the government is actively working to explain the rules and encourage full compliance with the Procurement Act nationwide.
“I’m not saying that there are no problems with the procurement system. You’ve heard us many times speak about this; about corruption in some areas,” Jagdeo said during his weekly press briefing on Thursday at Freedom House in Georgetown.
In response, he explained that the government has recently launched a countrywide discussion on the issue. Alongside Finance Minister Ashni Singh, he visited Essequibo, Berbice, and various other locations to speak with contractors and regional authorities, “laying the rules out.”
He also highlighted that training has been conducted in some regions. “We’ve identified several companies that are linked to public officials and we made it clear that since they hold these positions, they cannot bid in their own name. However, we can’t take away the right to work from their families too, as long as it has nothing to do with their ministry.”
Jagdeo noted that the procurement system has been significantly tightened.
He added that there are now over 2,000 contractors who have started under the People’s Progressive Party, with approximately 500-600 of these being Afro-Guyanese companies that did not exist when the A Partnership for National Unity was in power.
He criticized critics for failing to acknowledge the alleged corrupt practices of the previous administration, including the suspension of tendering processes for contracts.
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Jamaica
The Integrity Commission has found that a construction company linked to then-permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Colette Roberts Risden, incurred a cost overrun of more than $23 million for works done at the Ministry in 2019.
The 75-page investigative report, tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, found that a $37.18 million contract was awarded to Nubian 1 Construction through direct contracting on March 15, 2019 for emergency repairs of capping of double TBeams and painting of building.
But, the company incurred a cost overrun of $18.64 million for additional works in relation to the contract for the repair works.
A subsequent contract valuing $10.14 million was also awarded to Nubian 1 Construction on April 23, 2019 using the limited tender procurement methodology for renovations of executive suites. This project had a variation of $4.97 million.
According to the report, the cost variation was as a result of additional works required to enhance layout, functionality and public spaces such as the outer bathrooms, corridor leading to executive office and elevator areas that were not part of the original scope.
Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson concluded that the failure on the part of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to obtain the requisite National Contracts Commission endorsement prior to the start of the ‘variation’ works, breached Section 1.5.3 of the Government of Jamaica Handbook of Public Sector Procurement Procedures.
Mr. Stephenson also concluded that the invitation of only three bidders in respect of the ministry’s use of the limited tender procurement methodology was contrary to the provisions outlined in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service Circular number 27 of 2016.
The Integrity Commission said it began investigations after it received allegations in August 2019 that all procurement done by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security since 2016 were by way of direct contracting or limited tender.
But, these claims were unsubstantiated.
The complaint also alleged that Nubian 1 Construction was a “favourite” of the ministry; again the commission found no evidence to support this.
Conflict of interest?
In the meantime, it was disclosed that the principal of Nubian 1 Construction, is the cousin of the former permanent secretary Colette Roberts Risden’s husband.
Director of Investigation Kevon Stephenson concluded that the familial link raised significant conflict of interest concerns.
But, in a written submission to the commission, the former permanent secretary said she was initially unaware of the connection of the principal of the company to her.
She said she became aware of Wayne Gadishaw, whom she knew as Ludwig Gadishaw, at the time the contract was presented to her for signing.
Mrs. Roberts Risden said this information was shared with the ministry’s former director of administration. However, she could not recall the date the disclosure was made.
She also noted that a contractor being a relative of her husband should not be the main factor considered to determine that there exists a conflict of interest.
The Director of Investigation recommended to the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Public Procurement Policy Officer that there be clear rules governing the procedure to be followed where an accounting officer who is conflicted is a Permanent Secretary.
A copy of the report is to also be referred to the Office of the Services Commission for consideration.
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United States Virgin Islands
ST. CROIX — Dozens of local and foreign contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid conference call in May when the V.I. Office of Disaster Recovery issued 39 bids under the EnVIsion Tomorrow program, the Virgin Islands government-led program meant to repair storm-hit homes following 2017’s hurricanes Irma and Maria. During the call, ODR Director Adrienne Williams-Octalien acknowledged the program’s lackluster payment history.
“I know this program has had many issues in the past with payments, with overall processing, and we are attempting to streamline this process and get the resources out,” she said at the outset of that call. “But we also want to make sure that we get good pricing, and that our contractors understand the program, and that they are also able to move, navigate and have a successful experience with these federal dollars” from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, commonly referred to as HUD, and administered by V.I. Housing and Finance Authority.
During the pre-bid meeting in May, Williams-Octalien also told contractors that their bids must account for the use of government-owned lumber.
“Contrary to public opinion, the material at the lumber yard is good, ‘tier one’ lumber,” Williams-Octalien said in May, repeating assertions she made to lawmakers on the Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications Committee in February. “So you know — those of you who are in the industry know — that you cannot buy ‘tier one’ lumber here in the Virgin Islands.”
Indeed, large quantities of lumber were sent to the territory through the Federal Emergency Management Agency after hurricanes Irma and Maria. The V.I. Housing Finance Authority, which later assumed control of the wood, issued a May 2020 request for proposals seeking a contractor to manage the lumber’s storage and distribution. Now, that award is at the center of an ongoing prosecution in the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands.
William Thelusma, of Nuvo Construction, told The Daily News hours before an indictment was unsealed back in June, that after years of the wood sitting out in the elements, “I don’t think it’s fair to go use that in somebody else’s house.”
Lumber languishes while some make millions
According to that indictment, Davidson Charlemagne, the Education Department’s facilities manager and his wife, Sasha, collected millions in federal disaster recovery dollars while storing the lumber rent-free on department property – the now condemned Alexander Henderson Elementary School. That school was also damaged when Maria, a Category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc on the island on Sept. 20, 2017. Hurricane Irma, another Category 5 storm, had ravaged St. Thomas and St. John mere weeks before on Sept. 6.
Previously, the St. Croix lumber had been stored at Sunshine Mall in Frederiksted. At some point in 2020, the mall’s owner asked the government to remove the wood from his property, according to the indictment.
On Friday, hours after The Daily News story on EnVIsion Tomorrow program was published, ODR issued a Request for Proposals for warehouse and security services. It noted that the lumber on St. Thomas is stored at Frenchman’s Bay Quarter, specifically at No. 2-2 Bovoni.
The alleged scheme was partially obscured by the fact that Charlemagne’s company, D&S Trucking, was a subcontractor. The actual award went to Island Services Group, or ISG.
The indictment also charged former V.I. Housing Finance Authority Chief Operating Officer Darin Richardson with improperly awarding the $3 million contract in January 2021, and a bid from a rival company “was altered by unknown co-conspirators after it was submitted to VIHFA,” effectively rendering it less competitive.
The V.I. Housing and Finance Authority contract with ISG was amended at least five times, according to the amendments reviewed by The Daily News:
• June 2021 — The value of the contract was increased to more than $4 million and the term of performance was increased from 2.8-3 years. The June 13 indictment, however, claimed that the contract already had a three-year term.
• August 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.3 million.
• October 2021 — The value of the contract was increased again to more than $4.4 million.
• June 2023 — The signatures of both Charlemagnes appear for the first time, and the contract was amended to include language from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
The original professional services contract and early amendments were signed by former-VIHFA Executive Director Daryl Griffith and Island Services Group managing partner Morris Anselmi. The amendments were also signed by Kimberley McCollum, who listed herself as a “member-manager” of ISG on a federal tax form. One later amendment was signed by Dayna Clendinen during her tenure as interim executive director of the Housing Finance Authority.
No members of ISG were named in the June indictment but, separately, a federal grand jury in February charged Anselmi and McCollum, a former president of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, with fraudulently taking in approximately half a million dollars in Paycheck Protection Program money.
The fifth and final amendment provided to The Daily News was dated May 16, 2024 — less than a month before federal prosecutors closed in. It was signed by Anselmi, McCollum, and Housing Finance Authority Director Eugene Jones Jr., who assumed leadership of the agency in April, and established a new three-year term ending in January 2027.
At the same time, federal prosecutors concluded in their initial complaint, “the woodpiles in St. Croix and St. Thomas remain almost entirely unused and stacked on pallets outdoors and exposed to the elements for more than three years.”
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Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo.- The General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) has suspended the contracting process for the design, supply, and issuance of electronic passports due to findings that could violate the principles of participation, free competition, and equality.
This contract, classified under a “national security exception” and valued at 6,000 million pesos, received expressions of interest from 25 national and international companies by May 27. However, only two companies submitted bids, both of which are domestic, with one having prior contracts with the Passport Directorate. Among the 23 companies that opted out, several had connections to allied states and relevant experience.
In Administrative Act 036-2024, dated August 27, the DGCP cited preventive monitoring of the national security exception procedure and forwarded this to the Passport Directorate. The agency, which has faced recent passport supply challenges, has not issued a public response. DGCP is evaluating information from the Passport Directorate and has gathered data from the 23 companies that initially expressed interest but did not submit bids, raising concerns about the widespread withdrawal.
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Guyana
The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has found that there were several breaches in the issuance of an $870 Million pump station contract to Tepui Incorporated, which is a recently established company that is managed by Social Media talk show host, Mikhail Rodrigues aka “The Guyanese Critic”. However, the Commission noted that it is unable to revoke the contract.
It was Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson, who lodged a complaint with the Commission, requesting an investigation to be done into the issuance of the contract to the company.
The almost one-billion-dollar contract issued to Tepui, sparked criticism from the Parliamentary Opposition.
The Opposition questioned the company’s experience in carrying out such a contract, and a red flag was also raised about the award when it was revealed that the company was not even the lowest or second lowest bidder.
In a 35-page long response to Mr. Patterson, the Procurement Commission detailed several irregularities found in the issuance of the contract, but admitted that there is not much it could do since the contract had already been signed and activated.
“Further, on the entry into a contract, privity of contract issues arises. There is nothing within the statutory framework which permits the commission to revoke, rescind, recall and or in any way alter, suspend or stop the contract once entered,” the Commission said in its report.
The Procurement Commission found that the breaches in the award of the contract could have been avoided, and explained that when Tepui entered its bid for the contract, it stated that it had completed similar works before. However, it was revealed that none of those works were completed, and are all ongoing.
The Commission found that the company’s experience could not be based on works which were not fully completed since the criteria required completion of similar projects.
“The Evaluation Committee, which was comprised of two Civil Engineers, appears to have exercised a professional judgment that the work involved in the projects submitted by the bidder were of sufficient complexity and similarity to be considered. Ostensibly, an evaluation, particularly of this criterion, would involve an exercise of judgment or opinion and as with judgments and opinions, there would be mixed views,” the Procurement Commission said in its detailed report.
According to the Procurement Commission whether the Evaluation Committee has a discretion in determining what is a “project of similar nature” is dependent on the terms of the evaluation criteria.
The PPC stated that while there may be precedent for the exercise of such professional judgment and or discretion, an Evaluation Committee should not assume such discretion onto itself but ensure that it is acting within the terms of the evaluation criteria for the specific tender being evaluated.
The Committee also found that instead of a line of credit from a commercial bank or recognized financial institution, the company instead submitted a line of credit from the Puran Brothers waste disposal company.
The company also submitted a letter of credit from CARICOM General Insurance company, instead of a financial institution in keeping with the requirements. The Procurement Commission stressed that Puran Brothers Disposal and CARICOM general insurance company are not financial institutions.
The company also submitted a bid bond from the Assuria Insurance company and not from a financial institution as is required by law. The Public Procurement Commission again noted that the insurance company is not a financial institution.
On the issue of the company being awarded the contract when it was the third lowest bidder, the Procurement Commission revealed that it was informed by the National Tender Board that the lowest bidder had already been granted a contract for another similar project.
The investigation by the Public Procurement Commission also found that the Tepui company did not submit any financial statements and also did not provide evidence of ownership of all of the equipment to offset the multi-million dollar contract.
Still with all of those breaches in the award of the contract, the Procurement Commission indicated that it could not revoke the contract at this stage.
Last evening, Minister for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said the Government has noted the release of the investigation, and will take the recommendations on board.
He said the recommendations are useful for consideration going forward.
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