Articles | Project Calls

‘Lagging initiatives’

December 7, 2023 by Mayra Bonilla Lopez

Jamaica

CHAIRMAN of the Education Transformation Oversight Committee Dr Adrian Stokes has flagged the Government’s public procurement system as one factor causing implementation of some initiatives from the Professor Orlando Patterson-led Education Transformation Commission to lag.

Speaking at a Ministry of Education and Youth Press Conference on the programme at Jamaica House in St Andrew on Wednesday, Dr Stokes said “procurement issues” have affected plans for the implementation of broadband infrastructure in schools.

According to Dr Stokes, “It is quite a substantive piece of work to be done, something that will impact lives in a very big way.

“Again we are encouraging the ministry to ensure that the work here is advanced in a serious way. This has the important role of really transforming our education sector, very, very important initiative,” he stated.

In the meantime, he told the briefing that “another other important initiative that’s lagging is the procurement of key technological resources, software to aid the project management process”.

“As you know, we ultimately want to get to a point where we can have the updates available to the public by clicking a link that requires some work in the back end, including how we organise the project to begin with in a digital way, and there is some work to be done there to ensure that how we store the project data is done in a way that makes users able to access that data,” Dr Stokes explained.

He said the committee has been engaging in dialogue with the ministry to devise ways to “get back on track with these initiatives”.

The two initiatives were among four that the oversight committee chairman described as “lagging”.

The programme’s main objective is to advance the education sector’s modernisation and build on initiatives already executed. These include improving the management of school plants, human and capital resources and student outcomes by 2025/26, and improving school efficiency and administration by establishing a management framework.

Other objectives are to increase student access to quality secondary-school places through the construction of six new science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) and one visual and performing arts secondary-level institutions by 2028/29.

Education Minister Fayval Williams, addressing the briefing on Wednesday, said a lot of preliminary work has been done in relation to implementation of the Patterson Report which had made 365 recommendations.

“Implementation work has started on 93 of them which amount to about 25 per cent of the total,” Williams stated.

Dr Stoke’s indications are the latest in a slew of complaints about the onerous public procurement system.

Earlier this month, the issue took centre stage during a meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) which examined the third supplementary estimates for fiscal year 2023/24 with committee members questioning why capital projects, for which funds were allocated, had not been completed and the unused money “sent back”.

Days later complaints about the procurement process came from several other high-profile public servants including Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton and Members of Parliament Tova Hamilton, Mikhail Phillips, and Delroy Chuck â€” who have pointed to the almost stifling effect that the procurement process has been having on projects designed to improve lives.

Image: John Collins (Pixabay)

Pintard: Publish procurement report

November 23, 2023 by Mayra Bonilla Lopez

Bahamas

Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard yesterday called on the Davis administration to follow the law and report on the millions of dollars worth of contracts it has awarded.

“What is stopping the prime minister from publishing the first annual procurement report due October 2022?” Pintard asked in a statement.

“He stated eight months ago that we would get it imminently.

“Are there things in that report he wants to keep hidden? Why doesn’t the prime minister want to tell the Bahamian people how he and his team have been spending the Bahamian people’s money as required by law?

“When the information is eventually released, the opposition believes that the public will find out that this PLP administration has given millions and millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to its cronies and hangers-on, likely for jobs that should have been be subject to competitive bidding.

“Why else would the excuses persist?”

During the weekly Office of the Prime Minister press briefing last week, Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis said the infrastructure to comply with the law still needs to be finalized and put in place in order to publish the information.

“In order to really effect it, there was a serious, large infrastructure that had to be put in place at the back end of it,” Halkitis said.

“For example, the appointment of a chief procurement officer, the training of procurement committees, in not only the Ministry of Finance but in every single ministry and government agency.

“We’re talking about IT (information technology), acquiring the IT and getting people trained up on it.

“And so, that is what we have been doing for the last, you know, 18 months. We are at [a] position right now, where we have just about completed the training, and there are some of the contracts that have to be uploaded. We think we are almost at the position where those are completed, so we can look for that in the coming weeks.”

But Pintard said is it incredible that “competent, capable senior public officers in the various government agencies cannot put together a simple spreadsheet with the details of the contracts approved by their departments and then publish that online and in the newspapers”.

“These are the same public officers who have posted notices online and in the press almost daily for years,” Pintard said.

“We beg Minister Halkitis and the PLP to stop trying to denigrate the professionals in the public service. We know they can follow the law and publish this information relatively easily.

“We remind the government that the boards of public corporations and all of the state-owned enterprises should be posting the details of their contracts over $25,000, and we do not see evidence that any of them are complying with the law.”

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Remarks by Premier Wheatley at OECS Meeting Opening Ceremony

November 23, 2023 by Mayra Bonilla Lopez

Caribbean

Welcome Remarks by

Honourable. Natalio D. Wheatley

Premier and Minister of Finance

36th OECS/Pooled Procurement Service (PPS) Policy Board Meeting

and 9th OECS Council of Health Ministers Meeting

His Excellency, Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The Honourable Sir Molwyn Joseph, Outgoing Chair of the OECS/Pooled Procurement Service (PPS) Policy Board and Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment of Antigua and Barbuda.

Other Ministers and delegates of the various OECS states present and who will be joining in the activities over the next three days.

Staff of the OECS and other specially invited guests.

Members of the local and regional media.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

A pleasant good evening. I bid you a warm Virgin Islands welcome.

The Government and people of the British Virgin Islands are very pleased and proud to host the 36th OECS/Pooled Procurement Service (PPS) Policy Board Meeting and the 9th OECS Council of Health Ministers Meeting, which will take place from 10 to 12 October, 2023.

We are also very proud for the BVI to be taking over as chair of the OECS PPS Board for the upcoming year, and we join with the regional community in thanking the outgoing chair, Honourable Sir Molwyn Joseph, for his service, and for the support of the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda.

The OECS, generally, and the PPS, more specifically, demonstrate the benefits of community, cooperation and unity. They prove that our strengths and abilities as a collective are magnified many times more than the sum of the individual parts.

Through the PPS, OECS countries have been able to access quality pharmaceutical supplies for our populations at significant savings, in large part because we are treated as a single large customer rather than a number of small ones. Of course, this is not to detract from the hard work and talent of the PPS procurement team who negotiate in our behalf. Pooled procurement also helps us to reduce the cost of shipping and logistics.

It is my considered view that the success of the PPS initiative is a blueprint for tackling many of the other challenges that the people of our region face, and which are somewhat unique to our circumstances as an archipelago of countries, where we are separated by water.

Just as with pharmaceuticals, our people are facing high prices for food, building materials, technology tools and other essentials. Our countries compete in the global supply markets against larger, wealthier economies, who are able to throw their weight around, and who put their own needs first – sometimes not even paying a thought to the fate of the smaller countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also saw how we were able to collaborate, share resources and exchange knowledge and experiences. Some of the problems were common among our countries, and even among other countries around the world. However, we were differentiated from those other countries by factors such as our geography, the sizes of our populations and economies, and our resources. And so, we were able to tailor solutions to our unique circumstances, and to share with and learn from each other.

I emphasise this point to underscore that we who are closest to our own situation, who witness and experience the challenges everyday in our own countries, are the best positioned to deal with some of the challenges we face. Or, in the least, we must be involved in the process – and we must ensure that we are in those conversations when they happen. We have interests that need to be protected and we have a contribution to make.

May I say that the BVI treasures our association within the OECS family of nations very deeply.

Member and fellow associate member states have been very supportive to the Virgin Islands as we have navigated some challenging situations, particularly in recent times. The OECS and individual states have stood in defense of democracy and the human rights of the Virgin Islands people in the face of threats to suspend our Constitution through an Order in Council of the United Kingdom Parliament and to re-impose direct rule by the UK.

These threats, if they materialize, will undo generations of struggle and hard work by the Virgin Islands people to achieve self-determination as advocated for in international human rights conventions and international law; can threaten Virgin Islanders’ ancestral ownership of our islands; and can pose a serious risk to erasing our unique culture, heritage and identity.

The OECS as a body and individual states have been very outspoken at every available opportunity to highlight our concerns to the international organisations and the global audience. For this we are very grateful, and our brother and sister states in the Caribbean can always be assured of the BVI’s support in your times of need.

This has been another demonstration of the principle that we are stronger together.

I am confident the deliberations at the PPS Policy Board Meeting and the Council of Health Ministers Meeting over the coming days will be very fruitful in developing and strengthening ways for closer collaboration among members and more effective representation of regional interests in health and wellness. I look forward to positive outcomes.

Please also make some time to visit some of our world famous beaches, restaurants and other attractions before you leave. If you need any information or guidance, do not hesitate to ask our incoming OECS/PPS Policy Board Chairman, Honourable Vincent Wheatley.

I wish you an enjoyable stay in the British Virgin Islands and a productive session, and I invite you to come back to the BVI with your family and friends to experience our tourism offerings.

Do have a good evening.

I thank you.

Image:Meeting-modern-room

Barbados to join Petrocaribe in new form

November 23, 2023 by Mayra Bonilla Lopez

Barbados

Barbados is to sign the Petrocaribe II oil deal with Venezuela “in the near future”, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Jerome Walcott has confirmed.

The move ends an 18-year-long diplomatic stalemate between Bridgetown and successive leftist regimes in Caracas over the regional oil procurement pact that offers member states oil supplies on a concessionary financial agreement.

The deal appears to be a byproduct of Bridgetown’s hosting of the resumption of talks that on Tuesday culminated in a series of guarantees for free and fair elections for a new president in Venezuela next year, potentially paving the way for a possible ease in sanctions imposed by the United States.

The talks resulted in concessions between the Maduro administration and the Opposition Unitary Platform of Venezuela – a partial agreement on the promotion of political rights and electoral guarantees for all and a partial agreement for the protection of the vital interests of the nation.

Walcott said Tuesday’s signing also has significant implications for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has benefited from the Petrocaribe oil deal since 2005.

He said Barbados was hoping it would be able to sign on to an agreement that would not be the deal in its current form, but “something different”.

“The conclusion of these negotiations and what they portend, has major significance not only for the people of Venezuela but also for all Caribbean states where there is recognition of the Caribbean Sea as a zone of peace,” said Walcott.

“Now that the process has been concluded and Venezuela moves towards regaining its economic independence, we are looking forward in the very near future to a Petrocaribe II arrangement.

Image: pexels-pixabay

M&CC awaits legal advice to resolve garbage compactor procurement issue

November 23, 2023 by Mayra Bonilla Lopez

Guyana

The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is currently awaiting legal advice to decide its next course of action concerning the two garbage compactors that were procured by F&H Computer Supplies and Merchandisers since May, but did not meet the council’s specifications.

Originally, the M&CC had sought to recoup $10 million from F&H Computer Supplies and Merchandisers due to failure of the company to meet the specifications outlined in the procurement agreement. The defects had left the council grappling with non-functioning garbage compactors, causing monthly expenses of $3 million, for having Cevons Waste Management address the city’s waste needs.

However, a twist occurred when a faction within the council decided, without consulting the entire body, to pursue an alternative course of action. This faction opted to have the compactors repaired by a technician, a move that stirred controversy and animosity among council members at last month’s statutory meeting.

The decision to proceed with repairs without full council approval has ignited a feud within the M&CC, with accusations of unilateral decision-making and lack of transparency. Council meetings have reportedly been marked by heated debates and tensions between councillors.

In an attempt to find a resolution to the impasse and navigate the legal complexities of the situation, the M&CC has decided to seek guidance from its legal advisors. The legal advice, expected to be delivered to the Town Clerk’s office during the course of this week, will play a crucial role in determining the appropriate path forward in addressing the garbage compactor debacle and the associated financial claims against F&H Computer Supplies and Merchandisers.

In June, former mayor of Georgetown Ubraj Narine had expressed optimism and enthusiasm regarding the acquisition of new garbage compactor units. In a statement, he had emphasised the city’s commitment to creating a cleaner and greener environment for its residents and the importance of investing in advanced waste management infrastructure.

The purchase of the compactor units was seen as a significant step in this direction; the expectation being that they would contribute to more efficient waste collection and disposal.

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