Guyana
Commentator Joel Bhagwandin yesterday said that there was no conflict of interest in his role as a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) Commissioner and the fact that he had been on the payroll of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL).
On Sunday, Bhagwandin, a financial analyst, declared that he had terminated a contract with EMGL for the provision of advice on Government Affairs and political matters. In a letter in Stabroek News on July 16, he disclosed that he and EMGL had a difference of opinion over his attacks on AFC Leader Nigel Hughes and as a result, he (Bhagwandin) took a decision to terminate his contract.
Following his disclosure, Stabroek News contacted the PPC to determine if it had been aware that Bhagwandin had been on the payroll of EMGL and whether that posed a conflict in his role as commissioner. There has so far been no response from the PPC.
Yesterday, Bhagwandin dispatched a letter to this newspaper citing the query to the PPC and denying that there was a conflict.
“As regards conflicts of interest at the commission level there hasn’t been any matter regarding EMGL that has ever engaged the attention of the Commission for a decision or deliberation. As such, there was never any conflict-of-interest situation specific to EMGL and the undersigned as a commissioner of the Public Procurement Commission”, he said.
He emphasized that EMGL’s operations are regulated under distinct legislative frameworks, citing the Petroleum Agreement (2016) and other statutes, which fall outside the Commission’s purview.
Bhagwandin added that the Commission’s records will confirm his proactive approach to conflicts of interest. He disclosed that on two separate occasions, complaints were lodged by private companies regarding public tenders they participated in—one of which was a past client and the other a current client of SphereX. Bhagwandin said he disclosed these matters to the Commission and recused himself accordingly, demonstrating a commitment to transparency and ethical conduct.
Furthermore, Bhagwandin highlighted his recusal from the recruitment process for Commission staff, particularly in instances where candidates were personally known to him.
Bhagwandin has recently stirred controversy with his public condemnation of EMGL’s association with Hughes, Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC).
Bhagwandin’s concerns were articulated through various media platforms and culminated in an interview on National Television, where he underscored the potential ethical breaches inherent in EMGL’s actions. The crux of Bhagwandin’s argument rested on EMGL’s failure to adhere to its internal anti-corruption policies and political activities guidelines..
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Trinidad and Tobago
Despite several contractors vowing to challenge the intention of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to award a contract to Chinese firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), none have done so.
On July 31, the HDC informed the eight other contractors who bid to construct the $475.8 million Santa Rosa Housing Project of its intention to award CHEC the deal. This signalled the start of a standstill period which ends on August 14, giving the competitors 14 days to challenge the decision or lodge a complaint.
However, Procurement Board of Trinidad and Tobago chairman Beverly Khan said yesterday that there has been no contact from any of the contractors involved.
“As of today, August 7, we haven’t received any complaints or challenges to the particular procurement proceeding,” she confirmed.
Meanwhile, Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) president Fazir Khan has rubbished claims that the contract awarded to CHEC was similar to the 2019 cancellation of a US$72 million housing construction deal with the China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Company by the Government.
This was suggested by Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in a statement on Monday.
Five years ago, the JCC filed a FOIA request which, compounded by public pressure, led Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to announce the cancellation of the contract to construct 5,000 apartment units at specific sites across Trinidad. He told journalists at a post-Cabinet news conference that the contract was reviewed extensively by the Cabinet and parts of it did not meet its acceptance and approval both structurally and legally.
However, Khan said there is no comparison to be made.
“To go back to 2019, it’s a completely different scenario in terms of the legal landscape. So then, there was no procurement legislation as we have it now and the JCC actually had to execute a freedom of information request in order to get the details of that contract to become public and then that was not palatable, and it ended up being retracted,” he said.
“Today, anything that happens in terms of tendering is under the purview of the regulator and we are waiting to see how the due process unfolds because that means that the legislation is working,” he added.
In 2019, the HDC was not required to notify bidders under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, 2015, which was only partially proclaimed. The full establishment of the Office of Procurement Regulation (OPR) occurred in 2023.
According to the JCC president, the OPR’s standstill period, which could be no fewer than ten working days and not more than 15, is critical for aggrieved contractors.
Once the period expires, the HDC will issue a notice of the decision to award the contract, providing suppliers or contractors with a debriefing on the award decision. The award decision will include reasons for the selection, such as the name and address of the chosen supplier or contractor, the contract price, and the procurement method used.
It must also specify the evaluation criteria and scoring system from the solicitation document, as well as the scores achieved for each criterion and sub-criterion, the total score of the successful supplier or contractor, and the specific bidder. Additionally, it should explain why other bids or proposals were unsuccessful.
The OPR can review its decision during the standstill period. The OPR also has the discretion to suspend the procurement proceedings within three days of receiving the application before the procurement contract comes into force, if it deems such a suspension necessary to protect applicants’ interests.
In such cases, the procuring entity cannot award the contract until it receives approval from the OPR.
“There have been examples where contractors already have made several complaints and the OPR was very transparent in dealing with it. So, we know that they have the system in place and they have the capacity to deal with it,” Khan said.
On Tuesday, Moonilal said the Government should only engage foreign companies for expertise that cannot be found in T&T.
He said this agreement with CHEC is unlikely to lead to the hiring of local workers, which he highlighted as a major concern. This was a similar worry when China Gezhouba Group International Engineering was awarded a multi-million dollar project.
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Guyana
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday during a meeting with contractors in Region Six revealed that 60 kilometers of work for a four-lane road has already been awarded and is expected to commence soon as government moves ahead with the extension of the main access road.
Jagdeo told the contractors gathered yesterday, “Here in Berbice there is about 60 kilometers that we have already awarded from the New Amsterdam end coming done at 30 kilometers and 30 from the Crabwood Creek end.”
He then announced, “That work would start very soon.”
Noting the government’s concerns about procurement, Jagdeo said that he will continue to defend government’s position on issues which are being distorted by the opposition.
However, he said it bothers him when supporters of the PPP/C express concerns about the fairness of the procurement system and the abuse of the system by many people.
Noting that his government is taking a “head on” approach, Jagdeo said that there were complaints about multiple contracts being given to one family which creates a major case of dissatisfaction in the eyes of the people. “They complain about government officials getting contracts, they complain about shoddy work being done and people still getting new contracts, they complain about big contractors forcing out small people.”
Jagdeo pointed out to the contractors gathered that the PPP/C gets the blame for works which are not carried out to the proper standard, and to provide a sense of perspective Jagdeo said that there are so many contractors today because of the willingness of the governing party to expand and to assist more people to grow.
He said that some people have grown and are doing exceptional works while some believe that they can rip off the system.
“We’ve had cases in this region of …one family having six companies, a single family and then when we don’t know so the contracts go to six different persons or one family but six different persons in the family, when the activist and the other people see that they say look what’s happened it’s a PPP thing, never mind we didn’t even know these companies belong to related people.”
He stressed, “We want to help, we want to share the works as broadly as possible so that everyone can grow and that everyone can develop themselves but this system has to change and so the way we awarded too it was a little bit unfair.”
Rates
He explained, “In an attempt to share work people tender, one man might get the lowest bid for five contracts but since we don’t want to give one person five contracts” as such similar lengths of roads were awarded at different prices in government’s attempt to share the contract ensuring everyone benefits.
“So what we have decided now is that we are going to establish rates for each region, we are going to try to help people below a certain level, “the big contractors, the massive ones who are getting $500 and $600m they must not bid for the small contract, they are bidding for $2m and $3m contracts and all of that too, they must not bid for that, exclude them.”
He said, that contracts below a level of $15m will be made easy, “We are going to work …on the bases of rates for each region so people can make some money too and they can get contracts.”
According to him, this system will ensure more of the works are shared properly “and people at least can get one contract or so rather than one family getting several contracts and others not getting anything.”
Additionally, Jagdeo said that some government workers especially those who work around the regional tender boards must not have companies “and be competing with others and then they can violate the process.”
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Guyana
Guyana Power and Light, a publicly owned utility, has kicked off a tender to select an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for three solar plants with battery energy storage. The deadline for applications is Sept. 26.
Guyana Power and Light has launched a tender for an EPC contractor to build three solar plants in Guyana with a combined 15 MWp capacity and 22 MWh of battery storage. Applications are due by Sept. 26, according to the tender documents.
The publicly owned utility company is executing the tender on behalf of the national government. Financing for the projects will come from funds under the Guyana-Norway partnership.
A complete set of bidding documents can be purchased for a non-refundable fee of GYD 20,000 ($95). Bids must be received via post by Sept. 26.
Guyana had 8 MW of deployed solar at the end of last year, according to figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
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Trinidad and Tobago
Several contractors are getting ready to challenge the intention by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to award a huge housing contract in East Trinidad to a Chinese contractor.
HDC yesterday issued a notice of a decision to award a contract to China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd to build houses at the Corporation’s Santa Rosa Housing Development.
The contract, which is to design and build houses on the site, is for $475.83 million.
China Harbour was not the lowest bidder for the contract. According to a notice attached to the announcement several local contracting firms submitted bids for the project, but were not successful.
Junior Sammy Construction submitted a bid for $419.22 million, Mootilal Ramhit & Sons Contracting submitted a bid for $344.15 million and NH International (Caribbean) put in a bid of $259.61 million.
The HDC announcement states that there is a standstill period from July 31 to August 14, 2024.
“Consequently, in accordance with section 35 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, as amended, the HDC is initiating a standstill period of ten working days,” said the HDC notice.
Section 35 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act states: “35. (2) A procuring entity shall promptly notify each supplier or contractor who presented submissions of its decision to accept the successful submission at the end of the standstill period.
(3) The notice referred to in subsection (2) shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) the name and address of the supplier or contractor presenting the successful submission;
(b) the contract price; and
(c) the duration of the standstill period as set out in the solicitation documents.”
The standstill period gives bidders the ability to launch challenge proceedings against the intention by state companies to award contracts.
One contractor, who is on the list of bidders, said: “While we have not made a final decision, this award is likely to be challenged by us and the project stopped while the Office of Procurement Regulator does its review.”
“This intent does not constitute an offer or a binding contract between the HDC and China Harbour Engineering Company T&T. In the event that the HDC or China Harbour Engineering are unable to successfully reach agreement at the close of negotiations, the HDC will conclude the procurement process with with China Harbour Engineering and continue the same with the next eligible proponent,” the HDC said
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