The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) expresses grave concerns, over the continued flagrant violations and breaches of the procurement laws by the APNU/AFC Administration, as it relates to tendering and award of contracts, specifically, in the public health sector.
A recent announcement by the Ministry of the Presidency stated that Cabinet has awarded multi-million dollar contracts to specific suppliers for the procurement of medical supplies. These suppliers are: Trans Continental Medical Products Limited (TCMPL) – $675,575 USD, Western Scientific Company Limited – $154,154 USD, Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc – $27.3M, Eureka Medical Laboratories Incorporated – $92.1M and Diamed Caribbean Incorporated – $94,659 USD.
… more
Image: calamity_sal (flickr
Read more
Dear Editor,
I was moved to write this letter: to highlight to the Government and peoples of this country the practice of low-tendering, and the way it is abused by some contractors.
I was inspired to do this piece after reading a daunting headline in a national newspaper, “Shoddy Work…emergency works for Sand Creek Secondary”, on Tuesday, 8th August, 2017.
This writer is a proud and loyal tax-paying citizen, and so I found this to be extremely annoying, disappointing, and even painful. It is unfair to us, as citizens of this country, to receive such haphazard work from contractors. Moreover, I wish to list some of my concerns that cause contractors to underperform in such projects.
Firstly, in both the previous and current Governments, there definitely appears to be a certain level of corruption and favouritism in the system of tendering. This infiltrates the entire process (transparency and accountability), and in some cases translates into the termination of genuinely awarded contracts so confederates of those in power can be awarded the contracts.
I am currently in possession of damning and deadly evidence that could prove extremely embarrassing to the Government of the day. However, I have not released this to the public just yet.
… more
Image: Kenny Stoltz (flickr)
Read more
Just over a month ago, we launched a survey to help us, here a Project Calls, get a sense of the professional fees Consultants, Contractors and Service Providers charge for projects conducted within the Caribbean region. Based on our own observations, along with the experience of others, we noted that such information was not readily available. Moreover, being self-employed, or working as a third-party provider, though rewarding, can be competitive and isolating. Hence, access to some pricing information could, at the very least, be a useful consideration when determining the professional fees to charge.
To be clear, when we say ‘professional fees’, we are referring to the price (or rate) you charge for your services (or labour) – be it as a Consultant, Contractor or Service Provider. Usually, it is expressed either as a daily or hourly rate, based on the tender requirements. Such a fee is distinct from the possible expenses associated with the delivery of the assignment, such as: airfare, travel, meals, accommodations, printing, telecommunications, etc. Depending on the nature of the assignment, there may be no specific provision for expenses, though, strictly speaking, some would most likely be incurred, and would be absorbed by the provider. Having said this, it is thus important – prior to starting the contract – to carefully consider the amount of expenses that could be incurred, and have the requisite discussions with the client.
The 2017 fee survey results
The survey instrument was administered online for a period of about six weeks. In this inaugural exercise, 40 responses were received, primarily from Consultants and Service Providers:
- 80% of respondents live in the Caribbean
- 60% of respondents have been operating for more than 5 years
- Over 70% are Consultants.
Full Access subscribers, click here to access the full survey report!
Due to the relatively low response received, we were limited in the amount of analysis and ultimately, the inference we could make. As a result, we focused on examining the professional fees charged by Consultants and Service Providers only. Too few Contractors participated in the survey to support any reasonable review and/or analysis.
For consulting work conducted in the Caribbean, and on average, the highest fees are charged for internationally (or donor)-funded project, whilst the lowest fees tend to be charged for locally funded projects, as shown in Exhibit 1. There is approximately a USD 20.00 per hour (up to USD 160.00 per day) difference in the professional fees charged between a locally-funded and an internationally-funded project.
Exhibit 1: Average hourly rate charged by Consultants and Service Providers for Caribbean projects
| Source of Funds |
Average Hourly Fee (USD) |
| Consultants |
Service Providers |
| Local |
$ 129.70 |
$ 81.00 |
| Regional |
$ 143.79 |
$ 106.00 |
| International/Donor |
$ 151.22 |
$ 99.00 |
Full Access subscribers, click here to access the full survey report with select country-level results!
For service provision projects in the Caribbean, the average professional fees are between 26% and 38% less than those charged for consulting projects. Further, based on the source of funds, there is up to a USD 15.00 difference in professional fees charged; with the highest fees being recorded for regionally-funded projects.
In addition to professional fees, the survey sought to determine whether there were any factors that influenced the fees established, and a short list of likely factors was provided from which respondents had to choose. The majority of respondents, 86%, confirmed that a combination of variables, based on both the client’s and their current situation and imperatives, are factored to determine the professional fees charged for a particular project. The top considerations in order of priority, based on the list we provided, are as follows:
- The scope of the work specified
- The expertise required
- The duration of the assignment
- The nature of contractor/source of funds
- The impact of or how lucrative the work could be to the client
- The anticipated difficulty of working with a particular client
- The likely interest in and competitiveness of the tendering process
Full Access subscribers, click here to access the full survey report, and learn about additional considerations when setting rates!
Summary
Finally, although the survey response size was relatively small, the results still give some indication of the professional fees charged by Independent Consultants and Service Providers for projects undertaken in the Caribbean region. More importantly, just over half of the survey respondents (51%) were not confident that their fees were consistent with what obtains in their industry or country. Hence, these results would still provide some useful insight, and supports the need for such information to be available, in order to better help individuals make more informed decisions.
Having said this, it is hoped that in future exercises, a higher response rate is experienced, thus facilitating more comprehensive findings and deeper analysis.
Image: Pixabay (Pexels)
Read more
…says local contractors not being sidelined
REGIONAL Executive Officer of Region 10, Gavin Clarke, has defended the procurement of the region amid claims that contracts were not trickling down to contractors in the area.
Recent accusations relative to this nature were reported in an article published by this newspaper, which Clarke said that as the REO of the region, he was not given a chance to respond. The article headlined, ‘Nothing Trickling Down,’ reported on the comments of many local contractors and regional officials who affirmed the position that local contractors are not benefiting from contracts being awarded at the level of the RDC.
Clarke who responded to these allegations on Monday said that his honest, hard work is being dragged through the mud and it is very disheartening that comments were taken from individuals whom he considers as his neighbours, colleagues and even my mentors.
PROCUREMENT PROCESS
Clarke said that the procurement process in Region 10 is no different from any other region as it is governed by the Procurement Act under which the authority of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) is established and those who sit on the Regional Tender Board (RTB) were deem suitably qualified; hence their appointment. “The Regional Democratic Council does not have the authority to make such appointment,” Clarke argued.
In further refuting claims of local contractors being treated unfairly, the REO said that the administration would have invited tenders, via the open tender method, to pre-qualify contractors for the construction of roads, drainage and irrigation and bridges and electrical installation.
“The evaluators stuck stringently to the criteria for these particular activities because the Administration would have conveyed its desire to obtain value for money and to have these projects executed at the highest possible quality. The same bidding document was made available to all invited to tender, with the same evaluation criteria. Any contractor who felt he/she should have been pre-qualified for a particular activity and was not, had the liberty to seek an explanation from the Administration and that would have been given,” Clarke affirmed.
As it relates to the law that 20 per cent of all government contracts should be awarded to small contractors, the Administration, he said, is well aware of this and in no way is flouting the law and believes that the local contractors, as well as the local leaders commenting on the issue, are not informed and are speaking without basis.
“Now let’s refer to the Capital Works (construction) Programme of Region 10, there were 14 projects awarded by the RTB thus far to a value of $101,582,330. Of these 14 projects, 10 were awarded to local contractors with a total value of $68,404,483. Four projects were awarded to out of town contractors to the value of $33,177,847. This means 67% of the total sum awarded by the RTB was to local contractors.
As it relates to current programmes such as line Items, maintenance of buildings, maintenance of other infrastructure across all programmes, maintenance of roads, maintenance of drainage and irrigation and maintenance of bridges, there are 242 activities that have either been completed or in progress to the value $99,688,259.
These were awarded between 110 contractors; two of these are from ‘out of town’. “This ‘out of town’ award represents 17%, while 83% to the ‘local contractors’ and there are a number of projects yet to be award which are in the procurement process.”
… more
Image: Life Of Pix (Pexels)
Read more
For the first time in more than a decade, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has engaged with contractors and potential contractors to familiarise them with the process of tendering for drainage and irrigation projects.
This was facilitated in the form of a mini workshop, held at the Ministry of Agriculture’s main boardroom. $3.5B of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Budget has been set aside as expenditure for capital projects by the NDIA for 2017.
Approximately 30 contractors, from across the country with an interest in bidding for NDIA capital projects, gathered to be informed on the process of executing government contracts. They also had the opportunity, at the end of presentations to share some of their concerns as well as to have burning questions answered.
Corporate Secretary of the NDIA Board, Omadatt Chandan said that the workshop is timely since NDIA has increased the number of drainage and irrigation projects executed throughout the country.
Addressing the contractors Chandan said, “The primary purpose of having such a workshop is to educate our contractors and potential contractors on NDIA’s procurement system, how it operates, what you as contractors can do to improve this system and how you contractors can deal with the projects, in executing them in a more timely manner and also how you, as contractors can ensure that you provide quality works at all times,” Chandan noted.
Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Fredrick Flatts addressing the issue why some contractors fail to win contracts said, “it, therefore, means that we have a lot of works that are to be done from time to time. However, in looking at what happens there are some persons who are not likely to ever win any of our contracts not because there is something against them but when you look at the way they fill out their documents they just make so many mistakes.”
The hosting of this workshop means that the NDIA is working to create a diverse and enhanced public private partnership. “According to the act, the NDIA is mandated to promote and encourage the involvement of private sector in the construction, management, operation and maintenance of the drainage and irrigation and flood control systems,” Chandan added.
… more
Image: Pixabay (Pexels)
Read more
