Guyana
The Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) has shortened the delivery time for an additional 60 megawatts (MW) of power it wants so that it can be prepared for increased demand during the cricket and Christmas seasons, Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall says.
“We want to be prepared for an increase in demand and to ensure we have sufficient availability and in the system, not only now but between now and the time the gas to energy project comes into effect.
“We are in preparation for the holidays and CPL and everything else that comes up… we prepare to have more reserves because it is always better to have more than less …,” he said yesterday.
After signalling earlier this year that it would need additional power on standby while the power ship provides the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System with power, GPL placed a Request for Proposal (RFP) to supply 60 MW Net Power Generation Base load Capacity to DBIS through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and for it to be delivered 90 days after the contract was inked.
In May of this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that government was exploring another power purchase agreement similar to the current one it has with a Qatari power ship company, Karpowership, but this time for some 30 MW more until the Gas to Energy project is completed. This was because government has forecast increasing demands next year.
“We are still looking for an additional 30 MW of power into the system, in a similar way to the arrangement we have with Karpowership, that is for two years, until the Gas to Energy (GTE) [project] comes on stream and is able to supply enough power to the country,” Jagdeo told a press conference he hosted at Freedom House, Robb Street.
Jagdeo said that as the powership began distribution, “This 36 MW would allow for maintenance of the other units” of the unity company that had been deferred.
And while the GPL RFP had said 90 days was delivery time, on Thursday it made public an addendum, informing that the 90 days period had been reduced to 30 days.
Nandlall said the reduction time was to expedite the process and ensure that systems were in place long before anticipated increased demand, as GPL “always want to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Tenders for that project are expected to be opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board on September 17th.
GPL has been criticized for poor planning of its short to medium term needs.
In the call for RFPs, GPL outlined that bidding will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures, specified in the Procurement Act and that interested eligible bidders may inspect the bidding documents and obtain further information from its procurement office on Main Street during normal working hours.
“Bid documents will be available from August 23, 2024 and can be uplifted from the Procurement Office, Guyana Power and Light Inc. 40 Main Street Georgetown upon payment of a nonrefundable fee of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000),” the advertisement stated.
“Bids shall be submitted in a plain sealed envelope bearing no identification of the Bidder and marked on the top left hand corner “Supply of 60 MW Net Power Generation Base load Capacity to DBIS Through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)”, it added noting that it must be addressed to the Chairman of National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance, Main and Urquhart streets Georgetown, and deposited in the tender box no later than 09.00 hours on the 17th.
Bidders must submit one original (on paper) and two electronic copies (flash drive only) with an exact PDF version of the paper tender Ensure the envelopes of the original (in paper) and the two electronic copies are identically labelled. The two electronic copies should be placed in a smaller envelope and properly affixed to the original paper submission.
All proposals from local companies must also be accompanied by valid certificates of compliance from the Manager of the National Insurance Scheme, and the Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority
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Dominica
The modernization contract for the traffic light network in Greater Santo Domingo, managed by Transcore Latam SRL, saw its cost rise from 1,200 million pesos to 1,317 million pesos. An audit revealed serious irregularities in the procurement process, including documents issued without proper approval and unauthorized modifications, raising concerns about transparency.
The audit, conducted by the Comptroller General, covered the period from February 2023 to June 2024 and identified procedural violations. These included unapproved documents, incomplete responses to bidder concerns, and technical requirement changes that favored Transcore. Despite claims of 90% completion, only 20% of the project had been completed, with significant gaps in fiber optic installation, traffic light regulator setup, and camera connections.
The Comptroller’s Office recommended terminating the contract with Transcore to prevent further financial losses. A new tender process was advised, encouraging international company participation, and suggested that control over the traffic light system’s database be returned to Intrant for national security purposes. Additionally, legal actions against those responsible for the violations were urged.
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Jamaica
MILVERTON Reynolds has been appointed chairman of the the Public Procurement Commission (PPC).
Reynolds, the PPC said in a release, brings a wealth of experience and a distinguished career in public service to this role. “With a strong background in finance and governance, he is well-positioned to lead the PPC in advancing its mission of ensuring transparency, fairness, and efficiency in public procurement processes,” the release said.
Prior to this appointment, Reynolds held several positions in both the private and public sectors, the most recent being managing director of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ).
“His extensive experience and proven track record in these roles underscore his capability to lead the PPC effectively,”according to the release.
As chairman, Reynolds will oversee the activities of the Public Procurement Commission and guide its strategic direction. His leadership, said the PPC, will be crucial in upholding the integrity of the public procurement process and ensuring that all procurement activities meet the highest standards of accountability and transparency.
Reynolds possesses a BSc in Management Studies from The University of the West Indies, Mona; a Master’s in Business Administration from McGill University, Canada; and post-graduate qualifications in housing development and finance from the University of London, England. He also holds an honorary doctoral degree from the Northern Caribbean University for his contribution to nation building in both the private and public sectors, and for his excellent work in the field of public-private partnerships and privatisation.
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Cayman Islands
(CNS): Talks are continuing between the Cayman Islands Government and Dart over the failed dump deal, and it could be some time before the ministry is in a position to begin a new procurement process to find a suitable private sector entity to solve Cayman’s garbage crisis. The CIG has already wasted almost $16.5 million during the ReGen negotiations on consultants, insurance and project management.
However, Sustainability Minister Kathy Ebanks-Wilks told CNS that intense talks over the agreement are ongoing, even though she announced in July that the government was withdrawing from it.
At this stage, the sustainability ministry is expected to retain the waste-management problem in its portfolio once the government has cleared the legal, financial and other hurdles to extricate itself from what the minister and her predecessor, Wayne Panton, have both said was a bad deal. Given that ministry’s experience, it will take on the new procurement exercise, which is now unlikely to start before parliament is prorogued ahead of the 2025 General Election.
How much more the failed $1 billion deal will cost the public purse remains to be seen. However, according to the ministry’s response to a freedom of information request, $10 million alone had been spent on legal fees by the time the talks collapsed. Other costs associated with the project include the capping and remediation of a large part of the original landfill, which benefitted Dart as the surrounding land owner.
In addition, since the government began the original procurement exercise around seven years ago, there have been a number of land deals associated with the project. There were also general costs relating to the preparation of the project, which led to the Dart-led consortium securing the bid to build a new waste management and recycling centre, including the waste-to-energy plant, in 2017.
During a parliamentary meeting in July, Ebanks-Wilks finally confirmed that the marathon talks over this deal had collapsed as the proposed costs were too high. The UPM government, like PACT before it, said when it took over the negotiations that although the PPM-led administration signed an agreement in March 2021, just weeks before the election, the deal was far from complete and many elements of the project had not been settled.
After a further three years of negotiations between PACT/UPM and Dart, Sustainability Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks announced last month that the CIG had pulled the plug on the project, which she said was “untenable and unaffordable”.
“We need to find a more affordable option for the future,” Ebanks-Wilks said at the time as she warned the cost of the project could put CIG at risk of breaching the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility and losing control of the public finances to the UK. “This decision by Cabinet was not taken lightly,” she said.
Speaking to CNS on Thursday, Ebanks-Wilks said the government remained committed to finding a solution and would move towards the procurement process as soon as the talks to end the deal were over.
Since the announcement, a damning report by the Office of the Auditor General about the state of the deal as of early 2022 was leaked. The OAG had found that the negotiations between Dart and the government started badly and got progressively worse, even before the PPM-led administration signed a more than CI$1 billion preliminary deal with the islands’ wealthiest landowner.
At almost every turn officials made mistakes or failed to make the necessary reviews, calculations and assessments to protect the public purse.
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Caribbean
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB, the Bank) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have signed a landmark Agreement to enhance the effectiveness of project procurement processes. This Agreement, which applies to joint co-financed projects, is designed to simplify procurement procedures, reduce transaction costs, and improve project planning and execution across the Caribbean.
The Procurement Framework Agreement builds on the longstanding partnership between CDB and IFAD. It establishes a collaborative structure where both institutions will mutually rely on each other’s procurement policies in jointly funded projects. This innovative approach addresses the complexities arising from varying procurement frameworks of international institutions, which often result in inefficiencies during project implementation. By recognising that the two organisations share core procurement principles of economy, efficiency, transparency, fairness, and accountability, the Agreement allows for mutual reliance on their respective project procurement frameworks and establishes effective mechanisms for cooperation. This is expected to greatly facilitate a better division of labour between the two partners, along with more consistent and timely project procurement implementation.
Speaking at the ceremonial signing, Therese Turner-Jones, CDB’s Acting Vice President, Operations, remarked, “This agreement is an important step in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of how we implement co-financed projects. By enabling the adoption of streamlined procurement arrangements in joint co-financed projects, we are reducing the burden on beneficiaries, enabling faster project execution, and ultimately delivering better development outcomes for the Caribbean region.”
Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President of IFAD’s Programme Management Department, stated, “The mutual reliance established by this agreement is a testament to the strong partnership between IFAD and CDB. Our collaboration will not only streamline processes but also ensure that agricultural and rural development projects in the Caribbean are implemented with the highest standards of efficiency and accountability.”
The new Procurement Framework Agreement will significantly promote future collaboration between the two institutions and enhance their ability to co-finance development projects in the agriculture and rural development sectors. This partnership is poised to bring about greater coherence, development impact, and improved service delivery across the Caribbean. Caribbean.
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