The recent disclosure by the authorities in Guyana that the government here has received a number of bids from companies in response to its disclosure that it was seeking to conduct a feasibility study and secure a preliminary design for the construction of a bridge across the Corentyne may well be part of a process that continues to shine a different light on relations between the two countries.
Ironically, while the pursuit of the bridging of the Corentyne River would now appear to be a high-priority assignment for both Georgetown and Paramaribo, it has served, for years, as a symbol of differences between the two countries that may still pose a threat to relatively recent initiatives on both sides to improve relations. The frequent squalls between the two countries arising out of the issue of fishing rights in the Corentyne River have often extended themselves into assertive, sometimes bellicose declarations on both sides to say nothing about hostile moves on the part of the Surinamese military to evict Guyanese fishermen from the river. Diplomatic engagements between the two sides in an effort to address the issue have, invariably, accomplished little if anything.
If the Corentyne River and the right of Guyanese fishermen to ply their trade in the waterway still remains a far from resolved issue, circumstances have now pushed both Paramaribo and Georgetown to see the river in a different light.
It is now hardly a secret that both countries have been ‘gifted’ world class oil finds, a circumstance that has triggered an enhancement in government to government contact between the two capitals, capped by exchange visits to the two countries by their respective presidents. At the bilateral level meanwhile, various initiatives have been floated, all seemingly designed to strengthen ties between the two countries in areas that appear to include exploring possibilities for joint initiatives designed to maximise the returns to the respective countries from their oil ‘wealth’.
The net effect of this has been a flurry of high level contact between the two countries in an atmosphere far removed from the tension that once characterised meetings between diplomats from the two capitals to discuss broader swathes of bilateral issues including, inevitably, access by Guyanese fishermen to the Corentyne River.
What the discourses arising out of the presidential visits to the two capitals have done is to create a shift in the agendas of the discourses. These days, those exchanges embrace mostly matters to do with enhanced levels of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in spheres that have to do with their mutual development.
Following the recent opening of the bids, the local National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) disclosed that it had received six bids from four firms to pursue the undertaking. If the eventual construction of a Corentyne River Bridge remains a priority, the understandings and procedures that will doubtless necessitate continuous engagements between the two capitals, including high-level meetings at both technical and political levels, will probably see the conclusion of formal understandings in the matter of the construction of a bridge across the Corentyne River as a significant step forward in addressing an issue which, even now, still gives rise to interludes of assertive pronouncements and postures in the two capitals.
The Bahamian political system is “beleaguered by reports of corruption”, a newly-released US government report has asserted, singling out what it labelled as “small scale ‘bribes of convenience’”.
The US Trade Representative’s Office, in its latest report on The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations that benefit from the Caribbean Basin Initiative’s (CBI) one-way trade preferences, became the latest Federal government agency to raise concerns about conflicts of interest in the awarding of government contracts and systemic “patronage” in this nation’s governance system.
“The Bahamas has national anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in place, including criminal penalties for corruption by public officials, including a fine of up to $10,000, a prison term of up to four years, or both,” the US Trade Representative’s report submitted to Congress said.
“However, there was limited enforcement of conflicts of interest related to government contracts and isolated reports of officials engaged in corrupt practices, including by accepting small-scale ‘bribes of convenience’.
“The political system is beleaguered by reports of corruption, including allegations of widespread patronage, the routine directing of contracts to political supporters, and favourable treatment for wealthy or politically connected individuals.”
Again, no specific incidents or individuals were cited by the US report. And it did acknowledge that the Government had passed a Public Procurement Act, which took effect on September 1, 2021, as a measure to address many of the concerns previously raised by US companies and contractors.
“US and domestic companies have reported perceived corruption in government procurement and in the FDI (foreign direct investment) approvals process as obstacles. These companies complain the tender process for public contracts is inconsistent, and it is difficult to obtain information on the status of bids,” the report added.
“To increase levels of accountability and transparency, the Government launched an e-procurement and suppliers registry system in 2019, and passed a Public Procurement Bill in March 2021. The Public Procurement Bill will be fully enacted on September 1, 2021, and will overhaul the government contracting process. The Government promotes the legislation as ‘a standard bearer of modern, progressive procurement standards’.”
Some $56.751m, or 73 percent, of The Bahamas’ total $77.598m exports to the US in 2020 entered while enjoying the CBI’s tariff free preferences. Much of this will be the polystyrene beads exported by Freeport-based Polymers International.
Meanwhile, The Bahamas’ imports from the US were down by 8.3 percent year-over-year for the first eight months of 2021, standing at $1.586bn for the period to end-August as opposed to $1.728bn for the same timeline in 2020 when COVID-19 was at its peak. This represented a decline of just under $150m worth of goods.
However, The Bahamas’ 2020 full-year imports from the US showed how much trade reduced during COVID-19. They fell from $3.2bn in 2019 to $2.574bn in 2020, a drop of more than $600m.
The contents of the report US Trade Representative’s Office echo the concerns detailed in the State Department’s annual investment climate statement on The Bahamas and all other nations. Given the frequency with which these accusations are made, it could be argued that this nation is making little headway in addressing concerns regarding the level and presence of government graft.
“The government has laws to combat corruption among public officials, but they have been inconsistently applied,” the US Investment Climate report on The Bahamas said. “The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by public officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively.
Noting that there was no “independent verification” of the asset/wealth declarations submitted by MPs and Senators under the Public Disclosures Act, the report added that the process also lacked transparency because no summary of these declarations was made public.
“The campaign finance system remains largely unregulated, with few safeguards against quid pro quo donations, creating a vulnerability to corruption and foreign influence. The procurement process also remains susceptible to corruption, as it contains no requirement to engage in open public tenders, although the government routinely did so,” it said, noting that the Public Procurement Act is due to be implemented in early September.
“According to Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, The Bahamas ranked 30 out of 180 countries with a score of 63 out of 100. There are no protections for NGOs (non-governmental organisations) involved in investigating corruption. U.S firms have identified corruption as an obstacle to FDI and have reported perceived corruption in government procurement and in the FDI (foreign direct investment) approvals process.”
The government has verified some 450 of 1,500 contractors who were severed from The Bahamas Beaches and Parks Authority last month, said chairman of the board McKell Bonaby yesterday.
Bonaby, who spoke to reporters in front of Parliament, was providing an update on the investigation into the authority in the aftermath of an audit conducted by K Christie & Co.
The audit revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were issued during the last administration without any real identifiable need.
The government decided to terminate all current contracts in a legal manner but assured that every contractor who has a valid, legal contract will be paid.
“It was not a process that was set up to set people up. It’s not a sleight of hand,” Bonaby said.
“What we are doing is trying to do things that ought to have been done from inception. The process has been moving smoothly, persons are happy with the process.
“We have approximately 1,500 contractors so we have at least by now verified 450 or so contractors to date and the process is continuing.”
He continued: “The hold up has been the tax certificate compliance (TCC) and so we find that once that part of it is completed I believe that the numbers will pick up.
“But we are there to help the Bahamian contractors. We want to make sure they get paid as long as they can verify what needs to be verified.”
Among the observations outlined in audit were inconsistencies in the signature of the corporation’s former Executive ChairmanShanendon Cartwright; there were some contracts signed and dated ahead of the vendor/witness signature, and there were some missing contracts that have already been paid out.
Additionally, more than 90 percent of those contractors were not required to produce know-your-customer (KYC) identification to be placed on file.
For their contracts to be honored, every vendor will have to provide the basic KYC documentation for the maintenance of proper internal records, including IDs and bank details, and be tax and NIB compliant.
The report concluded that the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority requested and received consistent supplemental funding beyond its annual budget in the last three fiscal years.
The authority ran over budget in its award of contracts by $6.8 million between July 2019 and June 2020, and by $13.7 million between July 2020 and June 2021.
The authority was paying out some $2.7 million monthly to 12,000 to 14,000 vendors.
Yesterday, Bonaby said that his team is also working expeditiously to get new contracts out to tender so the work can be continued.
“As I drive around the street, I can see that the transition process is what’s being reflected on what we see on the street sides,” he said
“Myself and my team will be working throughout the weekend to get that done. I don’t want it to be a situation where persons are always having to come directly to me for a contract.
“In short order, we will be trying to set up a help desk where persons will be able to come in and seek person certain things from the authority. It wouldn’t be process heavy but at least there will be a process.”
He added that the board is handling the matter very meticulously.
“This is not something we are going to do with a knee-jerk reaction. So time is on our side and we will be reporting to the Bahamian people in short order.”
Guyana said on Monday it had received bids from several companies seeking to conduct the feasibility study and preliminary design for the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge linking the country with Suriname.
It said that the bids were opened last week at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, and that the bridge will be constructed using a design-build finance model through a private partnership arrangement, with incentives given by both governments to the preferred bidder.
The bridge is expected to be 1.17 kilometres from Guyana to the abutment on long Island, 2.15 kilometres of road through Long Island, and a 2.5-kilometre bridge from Long Island to South Drain in Suriname.
The two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the bridge, and President Dr Irfaan Ali said then that the bridge would link not only Guyana and Suriname, but the rest of South America
GEORGETOWN (CMC):
Guyana said on Monday it had received bids from several companies seeking to conduct the feasibility study and preliminary design for the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge linking the country with Suriname.
It said that the bids were opened last week at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, and that the bridge will be constructed using a design-build finance model through a private partnership arrangement, with incentives given by both governments to the preferred bidder.
The bridge is expected to be 1.17 kilometres from Guyana to the abutment on long Island, 2.15 kilometres of road through Long Island, and a 2.5-kilometre bridge from Long Island to South Drain in Suriname.
The two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the bridge, and President Dr Irfaan Ali said then that the bridge would link not only Guyana and Suriname, but the rest of South America.
“We recognise the enormous benefits that this can bring in the areas of tourism, transportation and trade. To this end, we have expanded our discussions on where we can jointly promote business opportunities and tourism opportunities for both countries.
“It is therefore expected that the proposed road alignment will create within its vicinity the possibilities for free trade zone, enhanced land value, reduce the cost of doing business, and increase the ease of doing business.”
Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said the bridge would mark a new era for both Caribbean Community countries in several areas.
“This bridge on the Corentyne River is not only important to facilitate the movement of persons and goods, trade and cross-border cooperation, it also symbolises a transition from the old to a new era; the era of well-being and prosperity of our people, and freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” he added.
The Public Accounts Committee will hear testimony in relation to an auditor general’s report on the Health Services Authority’s outpatient pharmacy services, on Wednesday and Thursday.
The report released in November 2021 was critical of government’s procurement work, given nearly $9 million is spent per year on medicines.
The Office of the Auditor General “found significant deficiencies” in the contract provisions for suppliers, which did not ensure fixed prices or best value for money. Some of these challenges already existed in a previous procurement exercise in 2017, “but HSA did not appear to have learned lessons from that”, Auditor General Sue Winspear said in the report.
According to the findings, the process was started far too late in 2019, at a time when contracts with suppliers were due to expire. The business case for the procurement was equally late, did not appraise the available options well and the evaluation of the tenders took too long.
By the time the tenders were received, Cayman found itself in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. This in turn affected supply chains and prices that suppliers were able to commit to, the auditor general said.
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Although the procurement was cancelled at the vendor evaluation stage and relaunched in 2021, Winspear said existing contracts that do not ensure value for money have been extended multiple times until March 2022.
The prices of pharmaceuticals in Cayman have been rising faster than the average pace of inflation. In the third quarter of the 2021, pharmaceuticals were 7.2% more expensive than in the previous year, after prices had already increased by 6% in the previous 12 months, according to the Economics and Statistics Office’s consumer price index.
In addition to the procurement issues, the report noted that the underlying legal framework, the Pharmacy Act, has not been updated since 1979 and is outdated.
There is no government strategy or plan for pharmacy services or a formal performance management framework in place to monitor how services are provided.
Despite these gaps, the report said, the HSA has managed to establish standards for the selection of medicine to ensure the safety and high quality of medicines.
The pharmacy’s inventory systems have also improved and resulted in falling rates of expired or out-of-stock medicines.
While the report highlighted that the HSA provides good quality pharmacy services, it said more can be done to regularly measure and report on performance, including customer waiting times and general customer satisfaction.
On Wednesday, the PAC will hear from the chair of the Pharmacy Council Dr. Marla Barnes, Chief Officer in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Nellie Pouchie and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson.
On Thursday, the committee will direct questions to HSA officials, including Acting Medical Director Dr. Courtney Cummings, Chief Pharmacist Colin Medford, former chief financial officer Dawn Cummings, interim CFO Ronnie Dunn and CEO Lizzette Howell.
