Guyana
SN article on the progress of the Bamia Primary School highlights the challenges that exist when previously untested contractors are awarded contracts for major infrastructure projects. Based on public information, this contract was awarded to a company that was established only three (3) months before the award, bringing into question if the company would have met the technical criteria as set out in NPTAB’s Standard Bidding Documents.
Almost three months ago, based on the uncertainty surrounding this contract award, I would have lodged several complaints with the Public Procurement Commission, requesting investigations to be conducted into the award of several contracts, including the Bamia Primary School. The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is the constitutional body tasked with investigating complaints from the public on alleged procurement breaches – but to date, I have not been afforded the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt of my complaint.
Unofficial information received states that the current Commission is of the opinion that any complaints that arose before their establishment (July 1, 2022) cannot be investigated – in the Commission’s opinion, they are only empowered to investigate procurement allegations committed after this date.
The Commission sought internal legal advice, which contradicted their position, but clearly dissatisfied, additional external legal advice is being sought to support their position that only procurement breaches which occurred post July 1, 2022, can be investigated. The external legal counsel shortlisted would be of little surprise to the public and until such a decision is completed, the Commission’s work will be in limbo.
An even more bizarre position adopted by the current Commission is that no person other than a supplier or contractor can lodge complaints to or even request the Commission to conduct investigations into alleged breaches of a contract. In other words, the members of the public or the taxpayers cannot request investigations by the Commission unless they were an interested party to that specific contract. This position departs from the work of the previous Commission, which conducted several investigations arising from complaints submitted by the public, most famous of these being the investigation into the award of the feasibility studies for the proposed New Demerara Harbor Bridge.
Further, unofficial information indicated that the internal legal opinion also contradicted this position, and as before, the Commission, being dissatisfied with this opinion has opted for external legal advice.
The current PPC was established on July 1, 2022, after receiving full support by all Members of Parliament on both sides of the House. The Government has boasted that the re-establishment of the PPC, clearly demonstrates their commitment to transparency and accountability. However, since its 2022 establishment, this PPC has only concentrated on hiring (and firing) of staff, Christmas and New Year’s parties, Commissioners’ entitlement to duty free vehicles, and in fact, the two most pressing matters currently engaging the Commission, are the procurement of staff uniforms and securing a more comfortable office building.
The PPC, like the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which has cancelled its next scheduled meeting on April 17, 2023, due to ‘unavailability of most members” –has fallen victim to the Government’s continued position of preaching accountability, while in practice doing their utmost to stall efforts to uproot corrupt practices.
Unsurprisingly, this fits well into the Government’s competence of unsurpassed, beguiling Public Relations and publicity while reminding us of the adage that says “Empty barrels make the most noise”. Guyanese need to look past the glitz and glamour of photos and press conferences and remember that “Actions speak louder than words” and then ask themselves, what have the actions of this Government meant for you, your friends and family??
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Bahamas
The Prime Minister yesterday said the Government’s digital procurement platform has generated $2.6m savings in just four months since its launch as he slammed his predecessors for giving large firms “dominance” in contract awards.
Philip Davis KC, leading-off House of Assembly debate on reforms to the Public Procurement Act, said close to 1,500 companies have registered with the electronic portal with almost 300 public sector contracts put out to bid through it.
“We will also have fully digital public procurement with the roll out of the Go Bonfire Platform: A best-in-class procurement platform that is being implemented throughout the public sector and in the Public Hospitals Authority,” he told MPs.
“Since the launch of the platform last November, 1,490 vendors have been registered. Two hundred and ninety-nine opportunities have been contracted during this period and the estimated savings from the use of the platform is $2.6m. This number is expected to grow as more agencies move their procurement processes online.”
Arguing that the current Act, passed under the former Minnis administration and brought into effect just weeks before the general election on September 1, 2021, had produced “unintended public policy consequences that we are keen to avoid”, the Prime Minister said one impact had been to favour large companies in the award of government contracts.
While not naming the company or group involved, he identified food supplies as one area where this had occurred. “One of the worst examples of this is seen in the unequal granting of contracts. The processes put in place created an environment in which large vendors are able to dominate the competition,” Mr Davis asserted.
“For example, in the procurement of food, one vendor by virtue of its size and corporate relations, dominated the procurement of food on behalf of the Government. Under the current Act, this dominance is allowed. In fact, it is an outcome that the Act, as written, intentionally brings about.
“However, common sense would tell you that the Government nor the Bahamian people want to exist in a reality where only the largest, richest companies with the most resources get every contract. We can all agree that the role of government should be to broaden opportunities for a diverse range of Bahamians. Our small and medium-sized businesses deserve opportunities too. The Bill before us today allows for that possibility.”
Public procurement, if used correctly, and in a fair, transparent and accountable manner with open, competitive bidding for government contracts can be an important tool of national development by facilitating the growth of small and medium-sized businesses. It can also ensure taxpayers receive value for money, and eliminate waste, inefficiencies and other unnecessary expenses and loss in the tender process.
“The new Bill does the opposite of what the current Act does by allowing for the preferential treatment of specific groups,” the Prime Minister added. “We will introduce preferences for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned business, Family Island businesses and youth-owned businesses. These are high priority areas we are targeting as a government to diversify opportunities in The Bahamas.
I think this point bears repeating. Under the current Act, the most well-established, well-resourced businesses were able to dominate government contracts under the guise of them being the best fit for the job. This sounds good on paper but ignores the reality on the ground.”
The Government spent some $274m on goods and services during the six months to end-December 2022, according to mid-year Budget data, which represented a year-over-year rise of $24.1m. This gives an insight into the size of the role that the public sector plays in the Bahamian economy, as well as the scale of the opportunity available to local companies and entrepreneurs to gain a share of this business.
“Contracts below a certain threshold will now automatically be reserved for national bidders,” Mr Davis promised. “Special permission will have to be granted for these procurement processes to allow for international bidding. Specific justifications must be given for approval of this request.
“For example, it could be for a good or service that is not available in The Bahamas. In all other cases, any contract amount below that. In all other cases, any contract amount below that threshold will be reserved and granted to local companies. We are preserving opportunities for Bahamian business owners.”
The Prime Minister did not specify that threshold in his address. However, the Bill, which passed its second reading in the House of Assembly last night, reduces the threshold above which a government ministry, agency or department’s tenders committee must review a contract award from $50,000 to $25,000.
This, the Bill states, is designed “provide an effective control mechanism” on the award. Contracts valued between $25,000 and $40,000 can be awarded on the recommendation of a public entity’s tenders committee, subject to approval from the relevant minister, while those valued between $400,000 and $2.5m will see the recommended winner forwarded to the central Tenders Board. Contracts over the latter sum will have to be approved by Cabinet.
“Under the new Bill, bidders who attempt to influence or induce the award of a contract by offer of employment, gratuity or any other offer of value will be disqualified. This is yet another area that will be strengthened,” Mr Davis promised.
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Bahamas
THE executive director of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) supports government’s plans to reform the Public Procurement Act, saying that there is still opportunity for strengthening.
Governance reformer Matt Aubry has spoken on the public procurement legislation repeatedly, having previously given recommendations to the government.
Mr Aubry is hopeful that The Bahamas is able to take the necessary steps to make the awarding of government contracts more open, transparent and accessible after progress had stalled following the Public Procurement Act’s implementation during the Minnis administration’s final days.
He also highlighted aspects of the Public Procurement Act which “maintained a very high standard”, while also suggesting aspects to be incorporated.
“We found that in the instance of the Procurement Act, that there were a lot of things that still maintained a very high standard,” he told this newspaper yesterday.
“So, the requirement to publish (notice of a contract award) within 60 days across the government, that was something that brings tremendous amounts of transparency, and so we’re really glad that something like that continues.”
He continued: “Although neither administration yet has enacted it, what we do here is that there’s a process in place, and a new vendor that will be utilised to start with reporting those, that’s going to be a critical element and if that’s able to happen, it creates great opportunity for a lot more folks on taking advantage of government contracts.
“Another thing that we saw in the new bill, was the specification for preferences in the prior act it had talked about as having a domestic preference, which basically means that you could put greater weight on local vendors, over international vendors. This act made it even more specific and said specifically youth-owned businesses, Family Island-owned businesses, and businesses owned by women, which is phenomenal and we very much support that.”
Mr Aubry reiterated ORG’s recommendation to be more inclusive of individuals with disabilities, which would be in support of the Disabilities Act.
Asserting that it was critical that the government now “build trust in the system” that all bidders will be treated fairly, and have an equal opportunity to provide goods and services to the public sector, he voiced concern about the reformed act, saying that the government failed to present how the process is appealed.
“What we know in procurement, an active and transparent procurement process, can be a tremendous movement to reduce the potential of any type of corruption, because it’s transparent,” he said yesterday.
“It’s all the vendors need to be registered and vetted and then the processes of how those selections are made should be really specific. And both the prior act and this one have lots of specificity in that instance.
“But when you get when you say made an appeal, or you’ve made a bid, and that bid was taken by somebody else was won by somebody else, and you have a concern that it might have been chosen for some other reason, having a very clear and independent way to appeal, that process to get it looked at independently, is really important in terms of building folks’ trust and compliance with this type of legislation.”
Public procurement, if used correctly, and in a fair, transparent and accountable manner with open, competitive bidding for government contracts can be an important tool of national development by facilitating the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.
It can also ensure taxpayers receive value for money, and eliminate waste, inefficiencies and other unnecessary expenses and loss in the tender process.
The House of Assembly passed the Public Procurement Bill and Public Finance Management Bill on Wednesday. Prime Minister Philip Davis said the legislation, once enacted, will allow improved government financial management and greater transparency.
The bills will also repeal and replace the Public Finance Management Act 2021, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2018 and sections of the Financial Administration and Audit Act and The Public Procurement Act 2021.
On Wednesday, Mr Davis said the government’s digital procurement platform has generated $2.6m savings in just four months since its launch, as close to 1,500 companies have registered with the electronic portal with almost 300 public sector contracts put out to bid through it.
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Bahama
ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said government had saved about $2.6m since launching a new digital procurement platform in November.
He said 1,490 vendors have registered on the new Go Bonfire platform, and 299 opportunities have been posted there.
“These numbers are expected to grow as more agencies move their procurement processes online,” he said during his contribution to a debate before the Senate passed the Public Procurement Bill and the Public Finance Management Bill.
Mr Halkitis reiterated his view that the Public Procurement Act the Minnis administration passed was “strange” and “unworkable”.
“It is a necessity to pass these replacement legislations for the orderly development of this society,” he said. “There is no ulterior motive. The simple fact is that because of sins of omission or commission, we have been burdened with a compendium of legislation on critical functions of the government which is simply unworkable.”
“The 2021 Public Procurement Act is a strange Act in the context of The Bahamas as it ignores the structural imbalance in the economy, an imbalance which the government is obliged to correct.
Mr Halkitis said the new law creates provisions for preferential treatment of small and worker-owned, women-owned, Family Island-owned, and youth-owned businesses.
The Organization for Responsible Governance has criticised elements of the bill.
It noted that while the timeline for publishing awarded contracts remains 60 days, terminology changes in the latest bill may allow some awarded contracts to remain unpublished.
The government has yet to comply with reporting requirements.
“It is unclear what has prevented the government from adhering to the reporting of awarded contracts thus far, and it is essential to begin immediate adherence to this mandated requirement in the interest of the awareness and trust of the public and private sectors,” ORG said in a statement in October.
The organisation identified numerous opportunities for strengthening the bill.
“These include changes to the appointment, composition, and financing of the Procurement Board for greater independence and representation,” ORG said.
“In addition, greater accountability and consistency can result through the reduction of the categories of procurement contracts listed in the bill. For example, audit, actuarial, accounting, legal, and financial consultancies that are excluded from the law.
“Another significant opportunity to ensure the law is favorable to small businesses is the restoration of a dedicated Procurement Review Tribunal as a more accessible mechanism to resolve concerns about awarded procurement contracts.
Unlike the previous law, the soon-to-be law does not include a Procurement Review Tribunal.
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Guyana
Several small business owners underwent a procurement training exercise organised by the Small Business Bureau (SBB) and Public Procurement Commission (PPC), at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Monday.
The one day forum provided small business owners with the knowledge to grow their businesses, the Department of Public Information reported. Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond stressed the importance of small and micro businesses. She underscored the efforts made by the government through the Small Business Act, which allows small entrepreneurial ventures to thrive.
“We realised that the big businesses were crowding out small businesses. So, we made a carve-out in the Small Business Act for small businesses to be able to get incentives to be afforded grants. There is even a loan guarantee programme, all of it to help and support and to bolster our small businesses,” Minister Walrond disclosed.
The act recognises the significance of small businesses as a source of employment and a driver of the economy, particularly in their respective communities. It also provides a legal and policy framework to support small businesses and ensure they have the necessary tools to succeed. Meanwhile, Minister Walrond highlighted another significant initiative implemented by the government through the Public Procurement Law, which ensures that contracts are awarded based on merit and not on any other considerations such as political affiliations or personal connections.
“Contracts are not handed out to people based on what you look like [and] who you voted for. There is a public procurement system that is open and transparent, and there are a lot of laws that this government has instituted. What it does…it opens the playing field for every single Guyanese business to have the opportunity to be able to access all of these opportunities regardless of where you are,” she said.
Additionally, the government has developed a procurement portal where businesses can access opportunities and submit bids. Minister Walrond said the government is committed to strengthening small businesses by creating a conducive environment for their growth and development. (DPI)
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