Bahamas
A fledging Bahamian company that won a $1.323m bid to digitise the Post Office’s services has launched legal action over allegations it has been prevented from fulfilling the contract award.
Sunrise Communications, in its formal statement of claim lodged with the Supreme Court on November 23, 2023, is claiming that the Post Office and now-Ministry of Transport and Energy have “failed to perform the requisite steps” under the Public Procurement Act for the contract to be executed and awarded despite it winning two competitive bids.
It is also alleging that the Post Office “has been entertaining bids for the same work to be performed” by other, rival providers despite its tender success, leading it to file a claim for “damages for economic loss”. Sunrise, whose win was included in the $140m worth of public procurement contracts unveiled in mid-October, also says it has received no formal suspension or cancellation notice as required by law.
Ronnie Ferguson, Sunrise Communications’ principal, told Tribune Business the experience has made him question Prime Minister Philip Davis KC’s assertion that the Government is committed to empowering young, qualified and capable Bahamian entrepreneurs through public procurement.
Disclosing that the affair has left the company “severely out of pocket”, he added that the contract – had it been awarded and proceeded as planned – would have digitised the Post Office’s processes to such an extent that it would have been converted “into a courier service” able to compete with established private sector firms, help lower industry prices and drive more revenues for the government agency.
Sunrise Communications’ award, for the “digitisation and creation of the Post Office’s website”, was among the 843 contracts whose details were released by the Ministry of Finance. However, Mr Ferguson said the award has been “stalled” ever since it was made on April 28, 2023, with ministry and Post Office officials only describing it as “under review”.
Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and energy, is away at the COP28 climate change conference and could not be reached for comment despite this newspaper messaging her. Ministry officials did not respond to calls and messages, and Mabelene Miller, the current postmistress, was said to be out of office when Tribune Business called on Friday.
“I’m very much disappointed that, as a young Bahamian company, we would have have followed the process laid out under the [first] Public Procurement Act,” he told this newspaper. “We would have done everything required. We entered into a competitive bid. The tender went out twice, and on both occasions Sunrise Communications was selected to perform the work.”
Sunrise Communications, in its statement of claim, asserts that it “had a legitimate expectation that a formal written contract” would be issued after it was selected as the winning bidder – especially as no cancellation notice was issued, as required by the Public Procurement Act.
The contract, according to the Ministry of Finance, was issued via an ‘invitation to tender’ process, and was the only award by the Post Office to be included in the 843-strong list. “As a result of the said legitimate expectation, the claimant complied with the scope of works submitted in the Go Bonfire [procurement] portal and has done the necessary work to supply to the procuring entity the service as outlined in its initial bid.”
The statement of claim adds that, prior to the formal competitive bidding process, Sunrise Communications had “an existing contract” with the Post Office to digitise its processes via a phased approach and bring the services into the 21st century.
However, come October 5, 2022, Sunrise alleged that it was told by the Post Master General that “the overall costs” involved in the digitisation process meant it had to be put out to tender in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
“Despite having an executed contract with the Bahamas Post Office as it relates to phases two through five of the digitisation project of the Bahamas Post Office, the claimant entered the procurement process with other competitive bidders and was awarded the contract pursuant to the provisions of the Act,” Sunrise’s statement of claim alleged.
“That since having successfully bid for the work to perform the digitisation of the Bahamas Post Office, and the same being published by the Government in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Bahamas Post Office as the procuring entity has failed to perform the requisite steps as outlined in the Act for the formal contract to be issued in breach of the provisions of the Act.
“Further, the Bahamas Post Office has been entertaining bids for the same work to be performed by other suppliers.” Sunrise is claiming that officials failed to provide the necessary information to advance a Cabinet paper that was necessary for the contract to be awarded.
Sunrise is alleging that the failure to issue the contract, in line with the award, or a formal cancellation or suspension notice while entertaining rival providers, all represent Public Procurement Act breaches.
Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business that the ministry was totally familiar with Sunrise Communications and its capabilities, having developed its website and that of the Department of Housing’s – together with their security and digital links – prior to it being split-off from transport in the last Cabinet reshuffle.
Explaining Sunrise’s involvement with the Post Office’s digitisation, he said it had initially begun work in February 2022 with the first stage configuration of its website including content and security features. Once that was completed, Mr Ferguson said the company submitted a proposal for what it envisaged would be the second through fifth stages of development.
Now we were going to make it more advanced; to turn it into a courier service and digitise all the processes related to the postal side,” he added. “Just like Go Postal and Mr Ship It, we were taking it [the Post Office] to that level, providing that level of service to make them premier couriers.
“We were starting with imports and, in the early part of 2024, if everything went right, we would move into being able to process exports – a more affordable, faster way of doing it. That was the plan.”
Mr Ferguson said the proposal was agreed and signed-off by then-post master general, Jennifer Johnson, but the cost involved exceeded the threshold at which contracts had to be put out to tender – especially since the Ministry of Finance wanted the work done in one go.
The Sunrise chief said the Post Office contract was duly put out to tender, which his company won, only for it to be re-bid after officials “muddied up the whole thing” by suggesting the process was “flawed”. However, when it went out to tender again, Sunrise duly won again.
Mr Ferguson said that, during both tender processes, Sunrise had continued working on the Post Office’s digitisation under the terms of its initial contract. “At no point in time did anyone from the Post Office or ministry write to Sunrise Communications to say: ‘Hey, guys, you need to stop the work’,” he added.
“There’s a process for that. If there’s any reason why you want us to cancel or stop the work, put it in writing if there’s justifiable reasons. That’s not happened. They’ve said nothing to us. At this point, or shortly thereafter when we had won the award, was when we ran into all these stall tactics. It got to the point where the ministry just kept saying it’s under review, it’s under review.
“We stopped working in it after the last meeting with the Post Office in July. I told the team we were not getting any traction. The ministry kept on telling the post master it’s under review. We were awarded the contract, it’s posted online, but they’re not reaching out via e-mail or asking to meet. They’re not engaging at all,” Mr Ferguson added.
“The Prime Minister is saying young Bahamian companies should have the opportunity. Here it is now. They have this US company coming into to try to do the work without even going through the procurement process.” Mr Ferguson declined to identify the company he was speaking about or say anything further on this.
He added that, after the April 28, 2023, confirmation that Sunrise had won the bid, officials said there may be a slight delay in contract execution given that funding would likely be made available in the new Budget year set to take effect from July, but then there was nothing apart from “radio silence’.
“I had to take legal action. It got to the point where I was severely out of pocket,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business. “We had a legitimate expectation. I went away with the Post Office to meet the logistical firm who may have been the co-ordinator for us. We’re doing these things together, coming together in chat groups back and forth, and now nothing…
“For me, I’m disappointed that we are trying to advance the country in the 21st century. We are trying to offer services that would be beneficial. We thought this service would add revenue to the country, give the other courier services competition to lower their prices or improve their services in the industry.
“I’m disappointed that we are trying to get our footing, but it’s always the foreign companies that edge out the rest of us or, if you are not in that circle, you are edged out. You have to be in the clique or a foreign entity. It’s not a fair play.”
Sunrise Communications opened in summer 2018, Mr Ferguson said, and now employs around seven to eight persons including technicians and accountants. “I can’t be a cry baby about it and close up shop,” he added of the Post Office affair, confirming that its global communications services platform remains operational and it continues to work on other small projects.
However, Mr Ferguson said its web services arm has been “severely limited” because he is unable to pay the development team until reimbursed for work performed on the Post Office project. “We have other projects lined up, but we are limited in what we can do until we get it sorted out,” he added.
“We’re going for full value of everything. We were prepared to settle for the work done. We gave them a road map for everything that was completed and not completed, and our costs.”
Ashley Williams, the attorney representing Sunrise and Mr Ferguson, said in a statement: “The Prime Minister in my view has stated his government’s policy in relation to the Public Procurement Act, which position is as previously quoted in The Tribune is: ‘It is high time young Bahamians were given equal opportunity to compete for Government contracts’.
“As a young Bahamian myself I concur with the Prime Minister’s policy. However, what we have in this matter is a young Bahamian who successfully went through the process, but [this] has resulted in him and his business being marginalised in relation to the awarded contract.
“This, in my view, is firmly against the policy as I understand it, which was articulated by the Prime Minister. So, in bringing suit, our aim is for justice for the claimant but also to create a framework so that no other young Bahamian will experience what he has as they attempt to climb the economic ladder in this country.”
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Jamaica
Various estimates suggest that Jamaica loses five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to corruption annually.
As we understand it, that equates to approximately US$800 million. Shortcomings in health, education, security, et al, which such funds could address are aplenty.
Corruption in high places has plagued Jamaica for a long time and the public perception is that it is getting worse.
Hence the recent lament by Mr Mikael Phillips, Opposition Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western, that people view every politician as a “thief”.
That perception and reality explain tangled procurement procedures which have long triggered the ire of political representatives across party lines. They complain of their efforts to get projects done frustrated too frequently.
Frustration, even anger, with the procurement bureaucracy appears to have reached a new high in recent weeks.
The perfectly logical push for transparency and accountability is backfiring because of inordinate delays, with projects which should be reasonably lasting a year or less taking years in some cases, legislators say.
The process is one thing, but in typically mild-mannered fashion, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton points a finger at those who execute.
“… I’m not prepared to blame just the process as the cause of the length of time, because I do believe that sometimes there isn’t sufficient capacity at the level of those who are managing … This means that mistakes can be made at times, or clarity is required because of uncertainties and that slows down the process even further,” Dr Tufton said.
Fear of failure may be part of the problem.
“I have had civil servants come to me and are literally super-cautious… because that fear of reputational damage is greater than the need to solve the problem …,” said Dr Tufton.
All of which means efficient governance is undermined.
Says Dr Tufton: “What you have, as I have interpreted it, is a system that allows political cycles, under the constitution, to be five years and a procurement process could take up to two and a half years… To me, it really compromises or undermines the capacity of any Administration in power …”
Ultimately, such inefficiency increases public distrust and disaffection with governance — to such an extent that many people turn away. As we keep saying, it’s not accidental that only 38 per cent of Jamaicans eligible to vote did so in parliamentary elections three years ago.
Note the words of Government MP for Trelawny Northern, Ms Tova Hamilton regarding procurement inefficiencies: “This affects my stewardship as MP because when I indicate to constituents that projects will be undertaken and significant time elapses with no implementation it creates a trust deficit and a whole lot of doubt, owing in large part to their decades-old experiences of false promises…”
What’s to be done? Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke speaks of a redoubling of efforts to train public servants in the use of the Procurement Act. He has also spoken of a review of the Act and a “few amendments” to make the system more efficient.
Whatever is done there needs to be balance, since corruption and the threat thereof are as real as ever.
We dare not throw out the baby with the bath water.
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Guyana
Former Public Works Minister David Patterson yesterday said that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has said that it has launched a probe into the contentious $865 million Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, pump station contract awarded to the Tepui Group.
The APNU+AFC MP told Stabroek News that this response came from the commission’s acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mervyn Chung amid concerns raised over the issuance of the contract.
According to Patterson, the ball is now in the court of the PPC, as accountability must take its course.
“I got a response from the acting (CEO) to my letter which outlined the flaws and he said an immediate investigation is underway”, Patterson told this newspaper.
“A contract for the construction of a Pump Station at Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, Region #3, was awarded to Tepui Group Inc. on August 14, 2023, the procuring entity was the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, I write seeking an investigation into the award of this contract on the basis that the Contractor was not eligible for the award,” Patterson said in a letter to the PPC recently.
He contended that the contractor, Tepui Group Inc., was not eligible for the award since it does not have the requisite experience stipulated in the bid documents, that is, successful completion of projects similar in nature and size within the last three years. Tepui Group was formed in August 2022.
Like Patterson, Opposition MP Ganesh Mahipaul said that the contracting company did not meet the bidding criteria.
This newspaper also reported that former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran opined that the contract awarded to Tepui Group was flawed, as not only should the company have been disqualified for not meeting the bidding criteria but the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) erred when it lumped two other contracts to the award.
Goolsarran explained that from his analysis, “there has been a violation of the Procurement Act as regards the award of the contract for the construction of sluice/pump station at Belle View as well as the other two pump stations at Meten-Meer-Zorg and Jimbo.
“As regards the Belle Vue pump station, the system appeared to have been manipulated to facilitate the award of the contract to Tepui Group Inc,” Goolsarran said
According to the bidding documents for the project which were opened on June 27 this year, and seen by this publication the project was for a pump station at Belle Vue on the West Bank of Demerara. The engineer’s estimate was also for that project alone, so NPTAB still has to explain how three awards were handed out from among the same bidders when it was not a project divided into lots.
In response to a public advertisement last May for the construction of the sluice and pump station at Belle Vue, there were 26 bids. The highest bidder was Nabi Construction Inc. with a bid price of $1,181, 867,183 while the lowest bidder was Gavco Construction & Supplies Inc. with a bid price of $740,584,800. Tepui Group’s bid was $865,543,500. Seventeen other bidders had bid prices lower than that of Tepui. The Engineer’s Estimate was $779,198,584.
Following Patterson’s disclosure of the letter to the PPC, the NPTAB issued a statement defending the award, contending that: (I) 13 of the 26 bids were deemed non-responsive and were therefore not considered; (ii) the lowest and second lowest responsive bidders were awarded the contracts for the construction of the pump stations at Meten-Meer-Zorg and Jimbo, respectively; and (iii) Tepui was the third lowest responsive bidder and was awarded the contract for the construction of the pump station at Belle Vue.
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British Virgin Islands
Providing health care in the Caribbean is becoming more complex as small countries attempt to retain staff, contend with cancers and other noncommunicable diseases, and keep hospital services financially viable.
But regional health leaders are seeking new ways to collaborate on meeting citizens’ needs, they said Oct. 12 during a press conference that capped off two Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States meetings in the Virgin Islands.
The VI hosted the 36th OECS Pool Procurement Services meeting on Oct. 10, as well as the ninth OECS Council of Ministers of Health meeting on Oct. 11-12.
The meetings gave health leaders an opportunity to meet, discuss common problems, and make plans for sharing medical resources, OECS Director General Dr. Didacus Jules said.
Other attendees
Besides OECS health ministers, attendees included representatives from the Pan American Health Organisation, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, and the World Paediatric Project.
“It was a very good meeting, and some critical decisions were made,” Dr. Jules said.
St. Lucia Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs Minister Moses Jean Baptiste, who visited the territory for the first time last week, said the meeting proved enlightening.
“Our meetings were very frank,” he said. “They were very upfront. We looked at the problems in the OECS squarely, and we tried our very best to have a plan of action which could cause our various issues to be looked at in the coming months and in the coming years.”
Messrs. Baptiste and Jules said they greatly appreciated a tour of the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital, especially considering that St. Lucia is building a new hospital.
Regional view
Dr. Jules explained that such regional meetings also help leaders understand specialised facilities like cancer treatment centres that are coming online in the region.
When member states share such facilities, citizens benefit from specialised services without every jurisdiction having to invest in them individually, he added.
Meeting attendees also discussed economic management issues.
Health and Social Development Minister Vincent Wheatley, who chaired the OECS PPS meeting, noted the VI’s ongoing struggle to offer competitive salaries to hospital staff, especially given its proximity to the United States.
However, Dr. Jules said member states are working together to keep nurses in the region even if they move among countries.
‘Win-win’ proposal
One possibility they have considered is working with doctors and nurses to establish two-year rotations among states, giving them access to salaries in one state while preserving their tenure in another for their return, he explained.
“That way, there’s a win-win for all sides,” he said.
When medical staff move to the US or United Kingdom, he added, states should work to keep in contact with them.
“A lot of other arrangements can be put in place to ensure that during that time, they are given opportunities to upskill themselves, so when they return, they come back better off financially, better skilled, and more reinforced in their capacity and their determination to make a difference at home,” Dr. Jules said.
This also applies to former Caribbean residents living abroad among the diaspora, according to the director general.
“There are many creative things we can do to turn what appears to be a disadvantage into an advantage,” he said.
Asked about the overall economic viability of health services, Mr. Wheatley said the territory plans to seek the consultancy services of a health economist.
Mental health
Also during the press conference, Mr. Wheatley invited the BVI Health Services Authority’s Mental Health Services Unit to present on its recently renewed outreach efforts.
Dr. Virginia Rubaine highlighted recent antistigma campaign efforts seeking to normalise conversations about mental health.
Those conversations will prove useful to the OECS Youth Advisory Network’s work, Dr. Jules explained.
A call for better data
In response to a question about the number of cancer cases in the territory, Mr. Wheatley said reliable data is needed to fully understand and address the situation.
Dr. Jules added that collecting such data would also be useful in region-wide efforts to address noncommunicable diseases.
OECS is currently collaborating with the World Bank on a five-year project to provide reliable regional information on health concerns to inform states’ decision-making.
Despite the lack of comprehensive statistics here, Mr. Wheatley said it is clear that cervical cancer, breast cancer, and cardiovascular issues are on the rise. He added that the OECS aims to put special effort into eliminating cervical cancer considering that it is easily preventable but deadly to women in the region.
Hand in hand with that effort will be educational campaigns focused on healthy diets and other lifestyle choices, he added.
Dr. Jules said regional backing also makes it easier to work with major food producers to promote healthier products.
Overall, Mr. Wheatley said the meetings were a good opportunity to discuss not only what needs to be done to improve health services, but also how best to go about it.
Speakers invited members of the public to subscribe to the OECS newsletter, available on the organisation’s website, to learn more about all the decisions made.
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Bahamas
One must talk less about transparency but rather strive to be transparent.”
In part two of my article’s series, I spoke briefly about the Bahamas government’s e-Procurement Supplier Registry and today I wish to elaborate more on the electronic portal.
The eProcurement Supplier Registry was launched by the Ministry of Finance on December 19, 2017 and at that time, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest announced, “This government administration is keeping its promise to bring greater accountability, transparency and modernity to The Bahamas government by changing how persons and businesses bid for government purchasing opportunities, otherwise known as procurement.”
Procurement will move from a very paper-based, time-consuming process to an online automated system that utilises standardised forms, with clearly defined evaluation criteria. Interested bidders can prepare and submit documents through the online portal, which will be known as the E-Tendering and Supplier Registrar System.
“More importantly, these initiatives will leap the country forward in terms of having transparent and accountable use of public resources that will ultimately expand opportunities for a greater number of Bahamian businesses and save taxpayers some money in the process.”
The DPM said the government is a major procurer of goods, works and services in the country, spending in excess of $1.475 billion to deliver public services.
“This underscores the importance of having in place effective, fair and efficient procurement arrangements, to ensure that the best value is obtained for the monies being spent,” he said.
Again on November 29, 2018, while opening the Ministry of Finance’s E-Procurement reform seminar, which was held at Pelican Bay Resort, Freeport, as well as officially launching the E-Procurement and Supplier Registry System in Freeport, the then deputy prime minister said, “The whole idea of the reform is to make the process of government procurement transparent and to ensure that there is fairness across the system, so that everyone has an opportunity.”
Turnquest said, “I know that for most businesses in The Bahamas that I have come across, one of the things that they have been concerned about is fairness and access.”
He also said, “We know how it worked in the past, where if your party is in power you get the contracts and when your party is not in power, you’re out of luck. This system seeks to try to create some balance, some equity and fairness across the system, so that we can take out these kinds of bias.
“If we allow the system to work the way it has been designed to work, it is going to create equity and it will result in savings and GDP business growth for all Bahamians.”
More recently on March 15, 2021, Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration Elsworth Johnson, on closing the debate on the Public Procurement Bill, said, “For about five years or more persons have been discussing the necessity of having an electronic process, how persons would tender, how they would appeal as, Killarney said, and how persons can be treated justly.”
It was just last month that the Department of Immigration engaged a vendor to provide meals for the detainees of the Detention Centre. The electronic process and the print media were not used to invite bids for this service, as prescribed by the government’s tender process for any contract in excess of $50,000.
In 2018, the Committee of Experts of the Follow-Up Mechanism on the Implementation of The Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, (MESICIC), of which the Bahamas is a signatory since 1998, visited The Bahamas and interviewed myself and other officials from the Ministry of Finance to follow up on the public procurement reform process. This was part of a series of visits and this one was considered as Round 5.
In their final report dated September 18, 2018, MESICIC made a recommendation that The Bahamas government should consider enacting a new comprehensive legal and regulatory framework which encompasses all the branches and agencies of the state applicable to government procurement of goods, works, and services and embodies the principles of openness, equity, and efficiency upheld in the convention; and to establish a centralized registry of contractors of works, goods or services, mandatory to all state bodies and dependencies, which contemplate the possibility to ensure that such registration also include a list of sanctioned contractors, in order to foster the principles of openness, equity and efficiency provided for in the convention.”
It has been two years and seven months since its initial launch and two years since all government ministries, agencies and state-owned enterprises were mandated to use the portal for all procurements.
To date, there are 2,266 vendors who have registered on the system. However, 208 of them will not receive email notices of the opportunities available to them, because since the departure of the international consultant and the procurement officer of the Ministry of Finance in March of this year, the ministry lacked the ability to approve these vendors on the system electronically, causing these vendors grave inconveniences.
The same dilemma exists for new buyers and those sending in requests for technical assistance via email. Approximately four months have passed now and the Ministry also has yet to hire an IT systems manager to manage the system to address the situations mentioned above and more.
The following is a list of ministries, agencies. departments and state-owned enterprises that have not registered on the e-Procurement Supplier Registry to date:
• Ministry of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Office of the Governor-General;
• Ministry of Education;
• Ministry of National Security;
• Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs;
• Office of the Prime Minister;
• Ministry of Public Service and National Insurance;
• Ministry of Social Services & Urban Development;
• Ministry of Tourism and Aviation;
• Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture;
• Department of Archives;
• Business Licence – Valuation Unit;
• Department of Cooperatives Development;
• Court of Appeal;
• Department of Education;
• Fire Services;
• Forestry Unit;
• HIV-AIDS Centre;
• Department of Housing;
• Department of Immigration;
• Office of Internal Audit;
• Department of Labour;
• Department of Meteorology;
• National Anti-Drug Secretariat;
• National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA);
• Port Department;
• Post Office Department;
• Department of Public Health;
• Department of Public Prosecutions;
• Registrar Generals Department;
• Department of Road Traffic;
• Royal Bahamas Police Force;
• Royal Bahamas Police Force – Grand Bahama;
• Department of Social Services;
• Department of Statistics (Nassau);
• Supreme Court;
• Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC);
• Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission (BEST);
• Bahamas Investment Authority;
• Bahamas Maritime Authority;
• Bahamas Trade Commission;
• Bahamasair Holding Ltd.;
• Bank of The Bahamas;
• The Central Bank of The Bahamas;
• Compliance Commission;
• Office of the Data Protection Commissioner;
• Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas;
• Nassau Flight Services;
• Securities Commission of The Bahamas;
• University of The Bahamas;
• Utilities Regulations & Competition Authority (URCA).
It is my understanding that the Ministry of Finance is aggressively attempting to have all of these departments on the system by September. Instead of trying to reach an unrealistic deadline to just populate the ePSR. They need to take a more strategic approach to yield the best results by first concentrating on the agencies that have a larger capital works and services budget as these are high in value and should be placing their request for bids on the portal. This would enhance transparency, ensure value for money and create an equal opportunity for the vendors in their respective industries. These agencies are:
• Department of Public Works;
• The Public Hospitals Authority;
• Bahamas Power and Light;
• Department of Education;
• Water and Sewage Corporation;
• Royal Bahamas Police Force;
• Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
Secondly, to support these large procurements they ought to ensure that the Tenders Board Governance module is installed and the board gets trained in order to make the necessary approvals or recommendation; after all, the developer was paid $60,000 since February of this year.
If one was to go to suppliers.gov.bs and search opportunities, you would find that out of the 36 agencies that are registered on the system, there are only four that are actively using it for most of their procurements and they are:
• The National Insurance Board;
• Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources;
• Bahamas Department of Correctional Services;
• Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
Our sister Caribbean nations such as Jamaica (www.gojep.gov.jm) the Cayman Islands (www.cayman.bonfirehub.com) and Trinidad & Tobago (www.ttconnect.g) have e-Procurement Systems as well, and on searching their opportunities a large variety of bids for goods works and services are listed. This is extremely different from what is seen on The Bahamas suppliers.gov.bs, as our requests for bids are primarily for goods.
As we are now in an election period, there are almost daily announcements by the government on project contract awards, none of which are reaching the portal. The former deputy prime minister and minister of finance meant well when he launched the ePSR. I wonder what he would say now as there is surely a lack of transparency in public procurement at the moment.
The IDB’s Economic and Financial Analysis 2015 conducted on The Bahamas’ procurement system reported that the implementation of an e-procurement system is going to provide more transparency and more competition in the different procurement processes, which will generate savings in the acquisition of goods and services.
Let’s hope that the Public Procurement Act will come into force soon so we can actualize these changes.
• Daniel Ferguson, MCIPS, is retired chief petty officer, RBDF; lead investigator, 2004 Lorequin Commission of Inquiry; a former procurement officer of the Ministry Health and Ministry of Finance and former component coordinator for the IDB-sponsored Public Financial Management Reform Project, in particular the Public Procurement Reform. He led the drafting team for the development of the Public Procurement Bill 2021, Public Procurement Regulations, assisted with the creation of the University of the Bahamas professional procurement officers training framework and managed the development of the e-Procurement Supplier Registry. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, with over 25 years of experience in public procurement. He was the Caribbean’s representative to the International Network of Public Procurement Officers for the years 2019-2021, a network supported by the Organization of American States, Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
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