Jamaica
The Ministry of Education has sought to clarify the steps it has taken since January 2021 to procure an e-book platform for use in this country’s education centre.
The Ministry issued a release on Wednesday after a newspaper report highlighted “assertions” made by MSJ political leader David Abdullah on the issue. According to Abdullah’s claims in a press release on Tuesday, the ministry decided to “implement digital school books after the call by the MSJ to do so.”
He said the MSJ proposed e-books for primary and secondary school students – not for the first time – at a press conference on September 4.
He said, “The MSJ, therefore, led the way on this issue.”
However the Ministry responded by saying:
“While the MSJ’s endorsement of the MOE‘s actions in this regard is duly recognised, the inaccuracy of their timeline, as it publicly presented, requires the MOE to place the facts of the matter on record for edification of the public.”
The Ministry explained further that in January 2021, a Request for Information (RFI) on ebooks was published, to which there were 42 respondents.
“The MOE subsequently held a meeting with booksellers to discuss and clarify certain issues surrounding the provision of ebooks. The MOE took further steps to establish the availability of ebook platform providers from July 2021, and the Cabinet approved the procurement of an E-book platform by the MOE through iGovTT on June 23, 2022. The request for proposals document is currently being formulated, and should be made public in October 2022.”
On Monday, the ministry said new textbooks should not be added nor editions change on schools’ booklists for the next academic year. In addition, it said an e-book platform is also being considered.
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Bahamas
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday that a new Public Procurement Bill will soon be released for consultation.
He made the announcement while giving remarks at the launch of the GoBoneFire eProcurement platform through which goods and services for all government and quasi-government agencies will be sourced.
Mr Davis explained that this “new day” government is solidly resolved in its ideals of good governance, integrity, and accountability.
“Procurement will necessarily be affected by our transformative co-dependent policy advances that require amendments to the Public Financial Management Act, the Public Procurement Act, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act,” he said.
“A new Public Procurement Bill will soon be publicised for consultation. GoBonfire is a necessary change in that process. The retiring platform was launched in 2005, well before the passage of the Public Procurement Act, 2021. Unfortunately, its age limited its function.
“Our Blueprint for Change speaks directly to digital transformation and, specifically, the Government Procurement Platform. GoBonfire aligns with our ease-of-doing-business approach to rescue the economy. From anywhere, a business entity can submit proposals for procurement opportunities with government and quasi-government agencies.”
This revelation comes after news that the Free National Movement intends to take legal action against the Davis administration to initiate a judicial review targeting the government’s failure to follow the Public Procurement Act.
The FNM’S leader Michael Pintard told this newspaper last week that he had already spoken with two attorneys and got a quote for a retainer for one of them in relation to this matter.
Last week, the prime minister challenged the opposition to “bring it on” in response.
In May, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis told reporters the government was hoping to amend the Public Procurement Act in the 2022/23 budget period with a view of making it “user friendly” to ensure better compliance and greater transparency.
Meanwhile, the nation’s leader spoke about the value of the procurement platform.
He mentioned for fiscal year 2022/2023, an allocation of approximately $795 million for recurrent and capital expenditure that represents “vast procurement opportunities for goods and services and for construction services”.
“The budget is structured around three priorities: managing the cost of living for Bahamians; creating and expanding jobs and ownership opportunities for Bahamians; and enhancing the safety and security of our communities and borders.
“The focal activities of the GoBonfire eProcurement Platform embrace our governance ideals and provide a requisite solution to facilitate our objective. From GoBonfire, we will assist the government by enhancing our ability to gather accurate, real-time data to inform decision-making, to ensure that obligations, including payments are being met on time, and to monitor the life cycle of the project.”
Mr Davis also said: “We have carefully selected this solution because it will ensure that procurement is consistent across the public sector – reducing cost without compromising quality, minimising product failures, and assuring operational efficiency to improve outputs of the supply chain.”
He highlighted the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of Transparency International for 2021; The Bahamas ranked 30 out of 183 countries with a score of 64 out of 100.
Particularly, firms in the United States of America identified corruption as an obstacle to the foreign direct investment approval process and reported perceived corruption in government procurement.
“That is why we committed to fiscal consolidation and the modernisation of infrastructure to justify and procure public goods and services in an efficient, transparent and accountable manner,” the Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said.
Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, said the total cost of the platform is $150,000 — compared to the existing platform it is “cheaper”.
Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation Chairman Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson said the Chamber, as a part of its mandate, supports initiatives that bring with it opportunities for the business community.
She added: “We are advised that this e-procurement portal provides increased opportunities for small and medium-sized Bahamian businesses to participate in national procurement. Further, this system supports competition and reduces government expenditure.”
“Although it is trite to say that small and medium size enterprises are the lifeblood of the Bahamian economy, I would be remiss if I did not underscore that at this and to say that the saying is still very true. Accordingly, a system which supports increased opportunities is well received and considered a step in the right direction.”
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Guyana
The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has taken umbrage at criticisms of its prequalification of companies for the construction of the Wales natural gas plant, with officials saying that simply checking the board’s website and those of companies that bid would clear up any doubts.
“You have someone going bold in public to say that a company’s name was not submitted when a simple check with other companies or our website would clear that up. We don’t like that because image is everything,” an NPTAB official, who did not want to be named, told Stabroek News yesterday.
“Don’t take my word or don’t take [name of person] word. Check for yourself. We make it a duty to upload as soon tenders are opened. You know too that the media is there and representatives from companies, so to hear this now is another thing,” the upset official added.
The response by the NPTAB official came in the wake of a call from former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson who last week said that there should be a full investigation into the operations of NPTAB.
To support his position, Patterson cited the pre-qualification of bidders for the Wales gas to shore project.
“The AFC calls on the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to conduct a full investigation into the operations of the National Procurement Tender and Administration Board (NPTAB), special attention should be paid to the bid evaluation and contract award process. Commencing August 2020, several contract awards have caught the public’s attention, ranging from the award of a school in Region 10 to a company that has no track record in construction, in fact, the principals of the company are better known for the promotion of sporting and entertaining events,” Patterson said.
“…The AFC invites the general public to pay keen attention to the tender process for the Gas to Energy project. In January 2022, NPTAB received 12 pre-qualification bids for the Gas to Energy project. At yesterday’s tender opening, companies that did not participate in the January 2022 pre-qualification process had submitted bids – it would be of interest to see the final award,” he added.
This newspaper had reported from a Department of Public Information release back in January that twelve companies had submitted information to NPTAB for pre-qualification for the project.
However, according to the minutes of NPTAB’s website, 21 companies had submitted documents. They were: Black & Veatch, Amerapex, NGC Group Trinidad & Tobago, China Machinery Engineering, SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction, CH4 Guyana-Lindsayca, China Energy International Guyana, Apan Energy, Wison Offshore & Marine, Construtora Queiroz Galvão, and Tecnicas Reunidas.
In addition, there were Power China International Group, Gaico Myer Hargrove, Mitsubishi Power, Bechtel Oil Gas & Chemicals, McDermott, Aggreko, ProMan Global Development, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Consortium Plexa-DVSANTOS and GuyCan Consortium.
On Tuesday, the Stabroek News reported that five international companies have submitted bids to build the proposed natural gas-fired power plant at Wales.
Guycan Consortium ($549,088,000 USD), China Energy Int’l Gr. Co Ltd. ($466,649,772 USD), China Machinery Engineering Inc., ($696,001,776 USD), Power China Int’l Group Ltd. ($703,652,256 USD) and Lindsayca Inc. & CH4 Guyana Inc. ($898,764,244 USD) are the bidders.
Already, ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has made a contingent award of the contract for the construction of the pipeline to the Subsea 7 and Van Oord consortium.
It also awarded a contract to TechnipFMC to provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea risers and pipelines once the project gets the green light.
The pipeline is expected to land at Crane/Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara and make its way to Wales on the West Bank of the Demerara.
EEPGL has said that the project will involve capturing associated gas produced from crude oil production operations on the Liza Phase 1 (Destiny) and Liza Phase 2 (Unity) Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, transporting approximately 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd; 1.4 million standard cubic meters per day [MMsm3/d]) of rich gas via a subsea pipeline and then an onshore pipeline to a natural gas liquids (NGL) processing plant (NGL Plant), treating the gas to remove NGLs for sale to third parties, and ultimately delivering dry gas meeting government specifications for use at the power plant.
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Bahamas
The Bahamas must “live up to the letter and intent of the law” on public procurement, a governance reformer urged yesterday, as he hailed the unveiling of the Government’s new and upgraded tender portal.
Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business it was vital that The Bahamas had taken “tangible steps forward” to make the awarding of government contracts more open, transparent and accessible (see articles on Page 22 B) after progress had stalled following the Public Procurement Act’s implementation during the Minnis administration’s final days.
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 also called for it to “follow the rule of law” by adhering to the existing legislation.
The Davis administration has branded the current Public Procurement Act as unworkable in practice because it imposes too many onerous and bureaucratic requirements on government to the point where it cannot function efficiently. However, it has not published details on the winning bidders, the nature of the contract, and the total amount awarded for all government contracts issued between September 1 and end-July 2022 as the law stipulates.
“I think all told I’m really glad it’s out,” Mr Aubry told this newspaper regarding yesterday’s launch of the upgraded electronic procurement portal. “We had a chance to see it last week; a little bit of a preview. It seems to be organised in a relatively user friendly way, and it’s good folks can register on the site and find out about opportunities. There are a lot of opportunities coming up very shortly, and they only have a few days to submit.
“We need to make tangible steps forward. It’s been a year since the Act was enacted. We haven’t seen full enactment; the listing of all bids or the publishing or the publishing of awarded contracts.”
The law presently requires the Government and all its ministries, departments and agencies to publish – within 60 days of every contract award – the winning bidder’s name and address; contract amount; bid title; name of the procuring entity; and bidding method used. This means that all government contracts awarded up to August 3 should now have been publicly declared, but none have.
The Davis administration has argued that its predecessor’s failure to follow the necessary public service protocols, and appoint a chief procurement officer to oversee the Act’s implementation, meant it is impossible for the Government to reveal these contract details. However, Tribune Business’ analysis of the Act did not reveal anything to suggest disclosure hinges on such an appointment.
Mr Aubry said The Bahamas’ efforts at public procurement reform had been “more aspirational in the past” than reality, but progress was now being made by both the current and former administration. Asked about the need for the Government to comply with the existing Act’s contract award disclosure requirements, the ORG chief replied: “It’s critical for a few reasons.
“It’s critical that The Bahamas lives up to the letter and intent of the law. Following the rule of law, that needs to be demonstrated by the Government. That’s critical because so many vendors have scepticism that the process will be open and fair because they’ve not seen that or in their experience that has not been the case for many decades. We need to build trust in the system.”
Mr Aubry said a properly functioning, transparent and open public procurement system where all bidders have an equal chance will make the Bahamian economy more competitive. “The Government will have a more competitive choice in selection, and it will give citizens confidence that their tax money is being used to the greatest effect,” he added. “There’s a lot of advantages, a lot of benefits to getting it right.”
The Public Procurement Act, passed by Parliament under the former Minnis administration and brought into effect on September 1 last year, was intended to end the patronage system that has dominated the awarding of government contracts for decades with bids going to political supporters, family, friends, lovers and others with the right connections as opposed to being issued on merit.
Implemented just two weeks before the general election, it was also intended to bring greater transparency and efficiency to the millions of dollars awarded in public sector contracts annually by having the process held out in the open. And, especially given the country’s present fiscal challenges, the law was designed to generate value for money for Bahamian taxpayers by ensuring the best bidder won the contract, thus reducing if not eliminating any wastage and corruption.
However, the Act has been the subject of an intense political battle for much of the past year which culminated in last week’s threat by the Opposition Free National Movement (FNM) to initiate a Judicial Review legal action in the Supreme Court over the Davis administration’s alleged violations of the Act by failing to publish details of contract awards.
However, the Davis administration has argued that the legislation is overly-bureaucratic and cumbersome, making it unworkable in practice. It says this has ensnared simple purchases in red tape, and added to costs and inefficiency, even though clause 34’s “limited bidding” provides for emergency contracts. It also pointed out that the accompanying regulations and guidance notes, and multiple other requirements needed to give the law effect, were never put in place.
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Bahamas
The Ministry of Finance has launched an improved e-procurement portal in order to fulfil its commitment of “transparency and ease of access to procurement opportunities required under the Public Procurement Act, 2021”, even as the government seeks to rewrite that legislation, having shirked the act since coming to office.
Government said the new platform allows for registered vendors to only receive notices for tenders they are eligible for; to search for opportunities across all government agencies and to “download and receive” access to all government procurement opportunities.
“The new platform, designed and built by procurement software company Bonfire, expands on the legacy procurement platform…,” the statement said.
“Unique to the new e-procurement platform is the ease in the ability of vendors to not only see the list of recipients of government procurement opportunities, but also to obtain details of the contract decision-making process.”
In opposition, the Progressive Liberal Party voted to pass the Public Procurement Bill, which governs the portal and its processes, in March 2021.
That act came into force on September 1, 2021 after the Minnis administration faced strong criticisms from the then-opposition and others over perceived foot dragging in implementing the new law, which provides for the establishment of a public procurement board, a digital procurement platform and an electronic vendor registry.
The government has already begun the process of rewriting that legislation.
The Ministry of Finance is providing a free informational session on October 3 at Margaritaville for the general public and potential vendors in regards to the e-procurement portal.
“Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of the experts managing the government’s procurement site and experience the new platform,” the statement said.
“The event will also be streamed live on the Facebook pages of the Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance, to allow participation from persons not able to attend in person or who may be located in one of the Family Islands.”
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