SAINT LUCIA IS NOT YET SIGNATORY TO THE CARICOM PERMANENT JOINT COUNCIL ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (PJCPP).
The CARICOM Permanent Joint Council on Public Procurement (PJCPP) convened its second meeting in Saint Lucia to advance discussions on the protocol governing public procurement in the CSME. While Saint Lucia has not yet signed the protocol, it participated as an observer during the meeting, signaling its interest and commitment to the deliberations.
Saint Lucia played host to a pivotal meeting of the CARICOM Permanent Joint Council on Public Procurement (PJCPP) on April 18 to 19, 2024, held at the Finance Administrative Centre in Pointe Seraphine, Castries.
Titus Preville, Director of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Unit, highlighted the significance of the gathering, noting that the PJCPP would focus on adopting its rules of procedure. Additionally, the meeting aimed to approve proposals encompassing rules, guidelines, norms, and standards outlined in the protocol for administering public procurement. Furthermore, the PJCPP intended to scrutinize its work programme for the period spanning 2024 to 2026, along with proposals for integrating E-Procurement into the Community Public Procurement Notice Board.
“At the moment seven member states Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname have signed the protocol on public procurement and the declaration to provisionally apply the protocol since it was approved by the Conference of Heads of Government in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2019. Of the seven Barbados and Belize have moved to ratify the protocol. In keeping therefore with article 36 of the protocol, once at least 5 member states have signed the protocol and the declaration to provisionally apply the protocol, the protocol is determined to be provisionally applied among these parties. As a consequence of that provisional application of the protocol, under article 30 of the protocol the permanent joint council can be established.”
Francis Fontenelle, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Finance, acknowledged that while Saint Lucia has not yet signed the protocol, the country has made significant strides in modernizing its procurement reform processes. He noted that Saint Lucia has introduced a new Public Procurement Act and accompanying regulations, as well as standardized tender documents to streamline compliance. Additionally, an E-Procurement Platform has been implemented to enhance accessibility, record-keeping, and reporting, aligning with parallel efforts within the CSME.
“We are very grateful that we are afforded observer status to the functioning of the Permanent Joint Council. This affords us insight into the direction in which the concept of regionally integrated public procurement is headed. We wish to recognize the contributions made by the CARICOM Secretariat and by the CSME Unit to the development of public procurement in the region.”
The Permanent Joint Council, consisting of Senior Trade and Public Procurement Specialists from member states, is tasked with implementing the provisions outlined in the community protocol on public procurement. This council holds the responsibility for overseeing the execution of the protocol’s mandates and regularly reports to the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the protocol’s performance.
“Now is the time for the remaining CARICOM, CSME Member States to sign the protocol and be part of the design of the framework of what will govern the parties to the protocol in the future,” said Preville.
“We will continue to pursue some internal steps to ensure that the policies are sufficiently understood and accepted prior to assimilation into our policy framework. In essence, we want all concerned parties to be comfortable that this is acceptable to us and that it is not being adopted solely to meet an external requirement,” Fontenelle said.
Under the 11th European Development Fund, the European Union persists in its support for the enhancement of public procurement within the CSME, bolstering the Framework for CARICOM Integration and Cooperation Processes Programme. The recent hybrid meeting held in Saint Lucia marked the second gathering of the Permanent Joint Council on Public Procurement, signaling continued efforts towards strengthening collaboration and progress in this critical area.
The Joint Consultative Council (JCC) is concerned about Procurement Regulator Beverly Khan’s failure to issue an annual report as required by section 24 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, which was operationalised in April last year.
In a press release on Monday, the council, through its president Fazir Khan, shared its concern, while also saying this was important given Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s projected $9 billion deficit.
In a June 4 press release, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which welcomed Trinidad and Tobago’s sustained economic recovery – commended the proclaimed Procurement Act, which it said “should help improve the efficiency of public spending.”
The council’s release said the independent report should have been submitted to Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, Senate president Nigel de Freitas and Imbert in December 2023.
It added that eight items were to be included in that report, including a figure representing the total value of contracts awarded by public bodies, another representing the cost of the total value of procurement-contract variances for 2023 and the number of unfulfilled contracts awarded by public bodies in respect of procurement.
Other items to be included were a summary of public procurement transactions for each public body, including subsections with the number of procurement contracts awarded; the number of procurement contracts varied; the quantum of those variances; number of unfulfilled procurement contracts and cost incurred; a brief description of the projects for procurement, the awardees, the value, scope of works and the expected deliverables of projects,as well as the lessons learnt from the management of procurement contracts.
The report also should have included the names of public bodies failing to comply with the act, an assessment of the overall performance of the procurement system and a summary of unresolved issues to be addressed as well as recommendations needing action on the part of the procuring entity.
The release said that report would have supplied critical data and information to Parliament and the public.
“Only then can any assessment of the efficacy of the new legislation be determined and adjustments can be made.
“This is even more dire at this time, when the 2024 mid-year budget review presented by the Finance Minister now projects a $9 billion deficit. Procurement reform is supposed to eventually realise savings in the vicinity of $4 billion-$5 billion annually.”
On June 18 at 8:30am (EDT), the forum “Haiti Now: Development Priorities and Interventions” will discuss recent developments in #Haiti.
Panellists will share views on how the new interim council, as well as the new administration might work with international and regional partners to restore stability and maintain peace.
The forum’s objectives are:
(a) to outline the current socio-economic/security situation in Haiti;
(b) to share World Bank’s approach to development in Fragile States;
(c) to reiterate the Government of Haiti’s Development Plans and Priorities; and
(d) to highlight CDB’s Haiti Programme and its alignment with Haiti’s Priorities and CDB’s Strategic Objectives.
$5.5 million spent on Bahamas Jubilee Games, $1 million more than government allocation
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Auditor General’s Report examining the accounts of The Bahamas Jubilee Games has revealed that the government spent $5.5 million funding the games, just over $1 million more than the government’s initially allocated amount.
The Auditor General also raised concerns regarding unauthorized salary increases for employees, among other irregularities.
The report ultimately criticized the accounting to the Secretariat, noting that accounting records were not properly maintained as there was missing documentation, financial records lacked certain financial transactions, and profit and loss statements were not regularly generated.
The report, which was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, noted that the operating budget of the Bahamas Games Secretariat was $5.5 million. The government initially allocated $4.5 million for the games, with just over $1 million being requested by the Secretariat after the event
The Auditor General’s report noted a lack of transparency concerning expenses related to preparing the games and a lack of accountability regarding the discretionary allocation of honorariums, overtime payments, and salary increments. The report also noted that procurement procedures lacked formalized procedures and transparency.
According to the report, the Secretariat received $59,000 in revenue from ticket sales, booklets, and souvenirs during the games; however, the OAG was unable to determine the specific breakdown.
The Auditor General noted that a government-appointed was supposed to oversee the Secretariat’s responsibilities but was never appointed.
The Auditor General also found that the Secretariat’s petty cash fund was improperly utilized for payment receipts concerning the acquisition of two vehicles. The sum of those transactions amounted to $4,000. The petty cash management document specified that no individual claims should surpass $500; however, several expenses exceeded that limit. The Auditor General recommended that car loan payments via the petty cash account be discontinued.
The report also raised concerns regarding some employee contracts, which stipulated that they were to be paid certain sums monthly but instead were paid monthly and instead were paid weekly. It was also noted that while employee contracts did not include vacation entitlements, the OAG observed that various employees availed themselves of vacation time, although there were no supporting documents substantiating their eligibility for such leave.
The report also noted that the Secretariat failed to make a $4,108 payment to the National Insurance Board, exposing itself to a fine for non-compliance.
According to the report, the Secretariat purchased two vehicles for $15,000. However, “There was no official documentation authorizing the purchase, and it was observed that two employees were making monthly contributions toward eventual ownership, although the exact amount for monthly payments was not specified in records.”
While BEL says it had been signaling the need for greater power generation for some time, it was not able to tackle the issue fast enough. The company is now hoping to get two new gas turbines up and running to generate additional power to the tune of fifty megawatts. The turbines, being constructed in the Belize District, are expected to be completed by the end of this month, and BEL believes the machines will greatly improve its ability to meet the country’s demands. But what took so long? General Manager of Energy Supply and Transmission, Jose Moreno, says the company’s plans were hindered by the laws governing the country’s energy sector.
Jose Moreno, General Manager of Energy Supply and Transmission, BEL: “Last year our board made the decision that we have to deploy generation resources. BEL is not responsible for the procurement regulations. BEL tells the regulator what our forecast is and then they are supposed to go and open up the market to attract those investments but we haven’t seen that since 2014. In 2013 there was an RFP for seventeen megawatts of new generation we only managed to finalize eight megawatts. So since then we haven’t added any new generation and our demand has been growing. So here we are. Last year we said we will have to invest in generation because at the end of the day those are our customers and we need to be responsible to guarantee their supply and that is why we are doing the upgrade of the gas turbine at mile 8 and the new addition of twenty megawatts of another gas turbine that is going to San Pedro. In the case of San Pedro the planned called for battery storage that hasn’t realized itself yet. We also had a new cable, there is a project for a new cable. We are working arduously on that to get that project off the ground and hopefully by 2026 or earlier we will have that new supply there but as far as generation resources are concerned we believe that after this weekend we are supposed to be in a better situation because we’re going to add thirty additional megawatts and by the end of May we will have an additional twenty megawatts from that turbine that we are deploying to San Pedro.”
Moreno added that one of the main temporary solutions to its energy woes is the shedding of power. However, he says that it is difficult for the company to decide which communities are affected by the decision.
Jose Moreno, General Manager of Energy Supply and Transmission, BEL:“The reason why we load shed is because we come up with a situation where we cannot meet the demand and that happens only if Mexico tells us “listen I have a situation in my system I need you to back off, I need you to curtail the supply.” right? Until then we don’t know. We cannot go ahead and forecast and put advisories out there if things are not gonna happen and that’s why they advisories that we have been sending out to our customers are general. Just telling them listen we are in this precarious situation, we might need you to come off or we might have to take out the feeder in our area out of service. Now last night we did mostly feeders in Belmopan, in San Ignacio we had two feeders out in San Ignacio. We had the Rural Belize feeder and one feeder in San Pedro Feeder 4 , that is the southern part of the island. We don’t expect if we need today we don’t expect to touch those feeders again unless we have one of those unfortunate occurrences where something goes wrong and we lose the entire system. Hopefully not.”
The company says that it will not be implementing rolling blackouts to curtail the country’s energy demand.
