Jamaica
ocal contractors are being assured that they will not be excluded from the procurement process under the Government’s $40 billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement (SPARK) programme.
The initiative seeks to rehabilitate several of the island’s roadways.
Recently, the Incorporated Masterbuilders’ Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) raised serious concerns that local contractors would be unable to meet the requirements to participate in the programme.
At last week’s post-Cabinet press briefing, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works, Robert Morgan, noted the concerns of the local contractors.
“I met with the Incorporated Masterbuilders’ Association and we had very positive conversations, and I assured them that a part of the procurement process will ensure that local contractors are an essential part of the SPARK programme execution,” Morgan said.
But in an update on the move to execute the project, Morgan revealed that no local construction company has been successful at the pre-qualification stage in the bidding process so far, despite two local entities responding.
Eight construction companies responded, and of the eight, two were local.
“So far, five international companies have been successful at the pre-qualification stage, and this week we will be sending out bid proposals to those five pre-qualified enterprise construction companies,” Morgan informed.
Also, he noted that the proposals will be for the international companies “to bid on the four packages that are across the island”.
It is expected that those bid proposals will be returned by mid-August, after which approval is to be sought from the Public Procurement Commission and Cabinet to award contracts by the end of September of this year, Morgan shared.
He added that, “These contracts will be for two years, with an additional year for defects, liability, as well as where the contractor will be carrying out corrective measures if there are challenges with the completed works.”
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Guyana
As part of its efforts to improve procurement practices and promote accountability nationwide, the Public Procurement Com-mission (PPC) has been conducting training sessions in the various regions.
In a release on Tuesday, the PPC informed that its latest session was held on June 14, at the Bartica Learning and Resource Centre in Region Seven. It said that the session drew a diverse group of 30 participants from various sectors, including members of the Regional Executive Office, Regional Tender Board, evaluators, engineers, and members of the Bartica Town Council.
Also in attendance were procurement staff, personnel from multiple regional and municipal departments such as accounts, procurement, planning, and health, as well as representatives from the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force.
The training session covered a wide range of topics relevant to the commission’s operations and the procurement process. These included the PPC’s role and responsibilities (mission, vision, core values and function); the legislative framework, administrative review and debarment process; the public procurement process; threshold and tender openings; and the evaluation process.
Following training sessions in regions Two,Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten, the commission said that it received a favourable response from Region Seven. The positive feedback from Region Seven, it posited, emphasised the significant value and impact of these sessions, reinforcing the PPC’s dedication to improving procurement practices throughout all regions. “This initiative is crucial in ensuring standardised, transparent, and efficient procurement processes across the country, thereby fostering greater accountability and better resource management.”
The PPC stated its intention to extend similar training programmes to regions One, Eight, and Nine, in the upcoming weeks, which will complete coverage across all ten administrative regions. And by equipping stakeholders with the requisite knowledge and skills, the PPC aims “to cultivate a transparent, efficient, and accountable procurement ecosystem conducive to sustainable development in Guyana.”
The release pointed out that Section 19(1) of the Procurement Act, Cap. 73:05, provides for the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board to create within each administrative region, a Regional Tender Board which is subject to the provisions of the Act. Therefore, it is imperative that the Regional Tender Boards are acquainted with and have a working knowledge of the procurement processes mandated by the Act.
Persons or entities interested in procurement training or requiring further information can contact the PPC via telephone at (592) 226-3729, (592) 231-7306, and (592) 226-2364 or by email at operations@ppc.org.gy
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Jamaica
The Ministry of Education and Youth in Jamaica is actively increasing its efforts to ensure schools across the nation are equipped with state-of-the-art closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems.
This move is part of a broader strategy to enhance safety and security in educational institutions.
Comprehensive assessment and procurement drive
In a recent statement, the Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, highlighted the ministry’s commitment to the safety of children by outlining the current status and future plans for the CCTV systems in schools.
Following a thorough evaluation, the ministry is aware of the operational status of existing cameras and is now embarking on a significant procurement process.
This initiative is designed to ensure that every school is incorporated into the safety and security architecture essential for creating safe learning environments.
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The initiative is monitored by the Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC), which oversees the implementation of various recommendations from the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC).
Chaired by Professor Orlando Patterson, the JETC’s report has set the foundation for reforms covering several key areas, including safety and security, governance, curriculum development, and infrastructure enhancements.
Implementation and training updates
Sophia Forbes-Hall, the Chief Transformation Officer, provided an update on the progress of the CCTV project. Plans are underway to prepare a project concept for submission to the public investment appraisal branch by September 2024.
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Guyana
resident General of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget has accused Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of ‘bias’ following his official meeting with an Indian businessman who expressed his interest in the Petrotrin refinery.
Rowley met Naveen Jindal two weeks ago to discuss business prospects for the refinery. It was subsequently revealed to the public that Jindal was allegedly facing corruption and bribery charges from the Indian government.
However, Rowley said he was ‘unaware’ of the charges the billionaire industrialist was facing.
Speaking at a press conference held at the OWTU’s building in San Fernando on Tuesday, Roget said it was unfair that the prime minister chose to meet an interested party beforehand, particularly as this country’s public procurement legislation was passed in the Parliament last year.
He further raised the fact that the OWTU would have won the first bid for the refinery- against 76 other parties- in 2019 as all of the necessary requirements and documents were provided for use. Roget explained that to date, the OWTU’s bid would still be considered as valid as everything remained the same.
He said: “The process that is currently engaged to select a purchaser for those assets had been closed on May 10, 2024. Up comes last week, this Indian businessman, in the Diplomatic Centre, in the face of procurement legislation, in the face of the procedure and the process that is being engaged, up comes this Indian businessman in a display of supreme bias discussing the same asset with the prime minister.”
“Trinidad and Tobago, that could never be correct or right. That could not be ethically correct, morally correct, spiritually correct and it’s definitely not lawfully correct and right,” he added.
Roget claimed that had another political party been in government then the move would not have been met with the current silence.
He further called out the government on its decision to announce the successful bidder by the end of August this year, pushing back the original timeframe from June, to benefit taxpayers.
Roget said: “The taxpayers are we the workers, the people of this country, all of us who that asset belongs to… And we will not sit idly by, this is a scandal in the making. This is a scandal in the making where the prime minister could just get up and announce that he changed the date, changed the rules of the game, engaged a businessman, and displayed extreme bias…because nobody else was invited to the Diplomatic Centre to talk about the process and the refinery.”
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Guyana
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday stated that the strengthening of the procurement system will be continuing in the form of a countrywide prequalifying system allowing the Cabinet to have a full picture about companies bidding for projects.
Homing in on the procurement process at his weekly press conference yesterday following an editorial in Monday’s Stabroek News which said in part that “Yet again, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has been found flagrantly violating guidelines for the award of contracts”, Jagdeo said, thousands of contracts are being carried out around the country in the various sectors due to the transformation that is currently ongoing countrywide.
However, he said, that these contracts when completed on time to the benefit of citizens are never focused on instead there seems to be a bias now to focus on a few contracts “the few that may have some issue and make that seem as the prevailing condition.”
This, he said, was something his party faced in the 2015 period as well “when they tried to characterize the People’s Progressive Party as being corrupt and so they are at it again.”
Noting the contents of the Stabroek News editorial, Jagdeo said that he had never seen such a strong position under APNU+AFC’s five years “when there was practically no public tender, when ministers were directly involved in their ministries in giving themselves contracts, there were no public tenders, there was no document to evaluate, there was no evaluation, there was no paper trail so you can’t investigate anything.”
However, he pointed out that for the contracts being highlighted now there is a paper trail, process, and documents to support “every single one of them.”
Notwithstanding this, Jagdeo said that the last thing he would do is put his “neck on the block for evaluators or the probity of every contract in this country”, stressing that “we remain open to ensuring that the process grows in terms of transparency and that we can weed out people who are engaged in corrupt practices.”
According to him, this was done on “several occasions” where they have seen the growth of the system.
Stabroek News’ editorial had noted that one of the tender board’s evaluation committees was found to have awarded a $2.1b Guyana Defence Force (GDF) project to Kares Engineering Inc over a better bidder.
NPTAB
Facing criticism over the award of the GDF project to Kares Inc, the NPTAB yesterday said that the evaluation criterion at the centre of the dispute had been “discontinued years ago” although nobody seemed to have been aware of this.
In recent months, the NPTAB and its evaluation committees have come under close scrutiny over a series of irregular practices which raised concerns about corruption.
After a complaint by Correia and Correia, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) investigated the natter and found that the award to Kares Inc did not indeed go to the lowest responsive bidder. It also said that the evaluation committee was bound to follow the structure that no bidder below 80% of the engineer’s estimate should be deemed responsive. Despite this, Kares was deemed the winner though the bids of Correia and Correia and S Jagmohan were better.
NPTAB in its statement yesterday said that it had noted the Stabroek News report `GDF $2.1b wharf contract improperly awarded to Kares” dated June 23rd, 2024.
It said that “The Guyana Defence Force advertised for the construction of a Coast Guard reinforced concrete wharf at Ruimveldt and bids were received via public tendering in November 2023. Subsequently bids were evaluated by an independent evaluation committee. The evaluators recommended the lowest responsive bidder and an award was made in December 2023. The contract award for the aforementioned project was published in January 2024 and the Government of Guyana entered into a contract in February 2024, with the bidder who submitted the lowest evaluated bid, which is also the lowest overall bid.”
According to the NPTAB , in March 2024, Correia & Correia Ltd submitted a request for review citing “Any bidder whose bid is less than 80 percent of the engineer’s estimate will be non-responsive”.
The NPTAB said, that it must be noted “that this Engineer’s Estimate was never published or given to the bidders prior to the opening of bids. It must be noted that the criteria cited was discontinued years ago and is not included in the numbered criteria in the approved Standard Bidding Document. Further, any modifications to the criteria in the Standard Bidding Document require prior approval from NPTAB in accordance with Section 23 (3) of the Procurement Act 2003. Additionally, please be advised that the complaint does not align with Section 52 of the Procurement Act 2003.”
It seems that NPTAB is the only party in the process who is aware that this 80% benchmark has been discontinued.
(Table of bids from the Department of Public Information)
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