Belize
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.
ose 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.
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Bahamas
$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.”
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Trinidad and Tobago
I refer to press reports that, “State-owned development company Nidco, the project manager, acted as just a ‘rubber stamp’.” This was reportedly said by Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal, member of the Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure at the sitting earlier in the week of the JSC which is conducting an enquiry into the Point Fortin contract.
The Joint Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) understands that the alleged wastage of public funds occurred before the new procurement legislation was enacted and operationalised in April 2023 and therefore the alleged “enablers of the associated corruption and wastage” cannot be penalised under these present laws.
While that may be the case, the JSC should seek to at least name and shame the relevant people for this travesty. Imagine that the OAS was paid US$150m or 20 per cent of the contract sum, as an advance payment, when the tender was based on ten per cent?
We would like to think that this cannot happen today as complaints can be filed under Section 41 of Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act of 2015 to The Regulator of the Office of the Procurement Regulation (OPR). In other words,the state entity, NIDCO in this case cannot be directed or pressured by powerful enablers, without these transgressions coming to light via the OPR.
The JCC cautions the public that too much time has elapsed since the annual report from The OPR was due at the end of 2023 and it yet to be delivered to the House of Representatives.
The impact of the new procurement laws is heavily reliant on this OPR annual report, which will provide transparent information to the public for the first time in the history of this country of exactly how much public money has been spent; how is spending these monies and who are the contractors and service providers.
We cannot underscore the vital importance of this information nor the following information that the OPR has to include in the report:
(i) the number of procurement contracts awarded;
(ii) the number of procurement contracts varied;
(iii) the quantum of those variances;
(iv) the number of unfulfilled procurement contracts an the quantum of cost incurred;
(v) with respect to the procurement for a project, a brief description, the awardee, the value, the scope of works and the expected deliverables of the project; and
(vi) lessons learnt as a consequence of the management of procurement contracts;
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Jamaica
The Government of Jamaica (GOJ), through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, is looking to establish the GOJ Procurement Awards.
This initiative aims to celebrate excellence and innovation in the public procurement system across various entities, according to Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke.
He was speaking during the Elevate Procurement Conference on Tuesday (April 23) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St. James.
Dr. Clarke emphasised the Administration’s commitment to recognising and rewarding outstanding achievements in public procurement, which is the acquisition of goods, works and services by the Government and State enterprises.
“So we will have a whole spectrum of awards that gives lots of opportunities. This is going to be like the Grammys [because] procurement is big business, and we are going to make sure it is celebrated like big business,” the Minister stated.
Dr. Clarke said the awards are intended to motivate individuals and teams within “departments, units, ministries, and agencies” to strive for excellence in public procurement practices.
“Our intention is to make public procurement a rewarding career, choice and option with various ladders and stages… that you can stay in… for your entire career, and have a fulfilling career,” he added.
The Minister also underscored the importance of professionalism in procurement, noting that it contributes significantly to national development.
The Awards are expected to raise the profile of public procurement and highlight its importance in driving efficiency and transparency in government operations.
The Elevate Procurement Conference is being held from April 23 to 25 with representatives from public procurement oversight institutions; suppliers of goods, services and works; civil society; local corruption watchdogs; regional procurement practitioners; and Latin American Procurement experts in attendance.
The event is intended to clarify the procurement process, facilitate discussions about local public procurement, and showcase interplay and interrelationships between stakeholders in public procurement, among other engagements.
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Belize
In 2023, the Office of the Auditor General uncovered two cases of fraud at the Belize Treasury Department and the Embassy of Belize in Guatemala resulting in the government losing over two hundred thousand dollars. In the first instance, the office uncovered that the payroll scheme in the Treasury Department showed fraud in the sum of ninety seven thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. Meanwhile, at the Belize Embassy in Guatemala, the Auditor General found that over one hundred and seven thousand dollars was mismanaged by a staff member in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While little information on the cases has been published on the AG Office’s website, our newsroom understands that the office completed two fraud audits and has since won the matters before the Public Services Commission. Subsequently, the public officers involved were terminated. There are, however, five other cases where public monies have been mismanaged. In 2022, the office launched an audit query into discrepancies involving the Belize Police Department and Smart Stream payments. Also in 2022, the government body conducted a performance audit on the procurement of tablets within the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economic Development, but the results have not been published. Additionally, the office launched a fraud audit probing into the misallocation of funds at the Magistrate’s Court. We note that several pieces of information regarding the audits have not been released as the seven cases are currently before the courts. For this year, the Office of the Auditor General has embarked on an audit examination of assigned vehicles within the Police Department.
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