IT MAY be merely coincidental that Herman Athias’ resignation as the chief information and technology officer at the University Hospital of the West West Indies (UHWI) followed immediately on this newspaper’s report on the bungled implementation of a record-keeping software at the hospital, which may have been the wrong one for the job.
Perchance the two events are related, it is our hope that Mr Athias has not been made a fall guy for the misadventure, which has now gone for more than four years after its due date, and for which the hospital and The University of the West Indies (UWI) – both of which are substantially funded by Jamaican taxpayers – is in the hock for over J$500 million.
In the circumstances, notwithstanding the funding arrangement for this project, the auditor general, Pamela Monroe Ellis, is likely to be on good legal grounds to, and should, initiate an investigation of the scheme. And while she is at it, a broad performance audit of the hospital may be in order. Indeed, the vice-chancellor of the UWI, Sir Hilary Beckles, should himself invite Mrs Monroe Ellis to conduct such a review as well as instruct Dale Webber, the principal of the university’s Mona campus, to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Meanwhile, the UHWI matter reminds of the Government’s long-overdue report on the security cock-up earlier this year on its JamCOVID portal, exposing the private COVID-19-related and other records of thousands of people who travelled, or intended to travel, to Jamaica. Our sense is that the administration hopes that this is one of those issues that simply fades away as people forget.
Not fit for purpose
With respect to the university hospital matter, the agreement it signed in 2015 with the St Lucia-registered firm, Health Administration Systems (which appears to be a subsidiary of, or is otherwise connected to, an Indian technology company, Survana Technosoft) – should have led to the digitisation of the UHWI’s records, eliminating the need for paper dockets. The Jamaican company, Advanced Integration Systems, is in charge of the implementation/integration. The system was expected to be functional within nine months.
But as The Gleaner reported on Sunday, in a 2018 review, a UHWI doctor who then had oversight of the project, complained that “the application was not fit for purpose”. A system that was expected to largely provide off-the-shelf functionality was requiring “massive customisation”. He suggested that the programme was overhyped and that there was inadequate operational support from the vendors. However, Patrick Anglin, in that report, also pointed to the poor attitude of some hospital staff, who were indifferent towards the new system, which should not be surprising if it did not work.
Nearly three years on, the Hospital Information Management System (HIMS) is merely limping along, still incomplete and with little trust from doctors, nurses and administrative staff, which raise fundamental questions of what went wrong and why.
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On 28th May 2021, the government of DOMINICA received tenders from five (5) contractors, invited in what the National Authorising Officer (NAO) of the European Development Fund cites as a negotiated [tender] procedure, for the construction of fifty (50) houses in the Kalinago Territory grouped in six (6) lots.
In an article dated 6th June 2021[1], Prime Minister Skerrit took ownership of the process stating, ““We got some monies from the European Union and as Minister of Finance, as Prime Minister, I am responsible for indicating along with the European Union, how we spend that money and where these monies are allocated for,” Skerrit said. “I decided … [that] I want all of the money spent in the Kalinago Territory and that is how we are getting the 50 homes in the Kalinago Territory for Kalinago brothers and sisters.””
DNO goes on to indicate, “The Prime Minister revealed that the contract has gone out to tender and the bids should be in and hopes that a contract can be awarded “in the next few days.” Construction works are expected to begin in July 2021.”
There are many interesting things about this tender that was actually “out” since April 2021. (1) There was a previous tender properly undertaken under the rules to the European Commission which returned tender on the 24th July 2020. (2) The Government of the Commonwealth of DOMINICA through the NAO, attempted to secretly invite contractors to bid on this second round, (3) None of the three local contractors who formed the joint venture, which was positioned to be awarded at least 3 of the lots in the first round of 24th July 2020, were invited and were refused documents for Round 2. (4) The procurement rules under the Public Procurement & Contract Administration Act #11 of 2012 (PP&CA Act #11 of 2012), which are still in force, were totally ignored. (5) The Delegation of the European Union in Barbados seems quite conformable that funds from the European Union are being used in a procurement process that is engaged outside the national law and riddled with irregular and discriminatory practices.
- Round 1 – The First tender for 50 Houses in the Kalinago Territory
This tender was conducted under the PRAG rules of the European Union and yielded returns on 24th July 2020 from five tenders, F& C Construction, NH International (NHI), CEI Ltd, Argos and ACE-JARS -STEWCO (2020) JV. The results and analysis are presented in Table 1 and 1.1 below. A few things are clear:
- That if all contractors met the post-qualification requirements for the respective lots, and appropriate discounts offered applied, the best possible award would be for a total of EC$ 26,643,253.94, VAT inclusive.
- ACE-JARS -STEWCO (2020) JV would be awarded lots 1,2 & 5, F&C C Lot 3, NHI lot 5 and Argos Lot 6.
- That NHI and CEI Ltd were on the average $1.25 M (38% higher) and $2.0 M (57% higher) respectively, than the two indigenously local contractors.
This event was cancelled because the total tender amount that could be awarded – pre-VAT of EC$23,168,046.90 – was cited as beyond the funding provided by the European Union. It is interesting that the government and NAO had the option to negotiate with the contractors and did not do so. One of the opportunities for negotiation was to reduce the scope of works, for example, reducing by deleting the accesses as was done for Round 2. Another option was to inject funds from other sources, or proceed with fewer houses or lots in the first instant, allowing a second round for the balance, given that the Kalinago people had a critical need for housing post-Hurricane Maria in keeping with government reports that this part of Dominica suffered the hardest hit in terms of housing.[2]
- The Secret Nature of Round 2 Tender – 28th May 2021 – and inherent discriminatory practices.
The NAO office administered the 2nd round of tenders in a clandestine manner, choosing not to publish the event or invite all the previous tenderers of Round 1, or more accurately deliberately denying the opportunity of three local contractors who formed the ACE-JARS-STEWCO (2020) JV to tender[3]. In fact, while the NAO refused opportunities to those who provided the economically most advantageous tender on at least three (3) of the six (6) lots, at the same time, the NAO sought the help of other government departments to find “suitable” tenderers. Of those sought, at least one admitted that it could not meet the post-qualification criteria and did not submit tender, and it is questionable if any of the others, besides NHI, could meet the requirements for more than one (1) of the six (6) lots. Published using the EU tender documents, the NAO called it a “negotiated procedure” – the definition of which is still being withheld – yet it had all the hallmarks of irregular and discriminatory practices that has been used to shut-out productive private sector entities from State-control or financed procurement events for goods, works and services. The NAO did not respond to our follow-up email of 17th May 2021.
The only known difference in the scope between Round 1 & 2 is the removal of accesses and movement of one house from one lot to another. The results of the 28th May 2021 submission and analysis is presented in Table 2 & 2.1 below. A few things are clear:
- That NHI and F&C C were the only two tenderers who participated in both rounds, however F&C C submitted for Lot 3 in Round 1 and Lot 1 in Round 2.
- The difference in NHI prices per lot in Round 1 & 2 were on the average less than 2%, 1-5%, and less than 1% on the total tender sum without discounts for the two submissions a 10 months apart.
- That if all contractors met the post- qualification requirements for the respective lots[4], and appropriate discounts offered applied, the best possible award would be for a total of EC$ 27,290,739.35, VAT inclusive – approximately EC$ 647,500 more than the result of Round 1 – 10 months ago – 24 July 2020.
- If ACE-JARS -STEWCO (2020) JV had been invited and submitted tenders for the same lots as in Round 1, with prices within the margin of change of NHI (practically same pricing for a competitive event) and the accesses of Round 1 were removed in the pricing, then the best possible award would be for a total of EC$ 23,342,161.82, VAT inclusive – over $3M less than the result of Round 1 – 10 months ago – 24 July 2020.
- The Government plans to award contracts[5] above the initial budget allocation and at least 12.4% more than it would have on the face value of the tenders of 24th July 2020 which was for a large scope of works.
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It was not my intention to write another article until the end of September, as I wanted to give the government the benefit of the doubt regarding its self-imposed September 1, 2021, timeline for when the Public Procurement Act will take effect. However, on Monday, the prime minister during his closing remarks in the budget debate referred to me publicly by warning that “if you push me enough” the details of my personal files when I was employed at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and the Ministry of Health will be revealed.
I was amused by this, and want to know what records he is referring to. He also alluded to me being “an angry man”, and that I breached confidentiality clauses related to my previous government employment. It is not my intention to answer the prime minister in this regard because I have provided this newspaper, and other media houses, with copies of my Military Discharge Certificate, which reflects my honourable discharge from the RBDF along with a “very good” character reference. I also received a “letter of appreciation” from the US Coastguard, and was subsequently appointed as chief supplies officer to the Ministry of Health.
The public should ask the prime minister why, if my files are so damaging, how I was appointed as lead investigator for the Lorequin Commission of Inquiry in 2004. And why was I employed in your ministry as a procurement officer responsible for public procurement reform for four years, while also being named as the Caribbean’s representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS) body – known as the Inter-American Network of Government Procurement Officers – for the years 2019 to 2021?
I would agree, though, that I am an angry man – but only because the government will take the advice of others on procurement matters while ignoring the professional specialists. I am angry because, as a chartered procurement specialist, I am appalled by the amount of government contracts that remain politically motivated, and are neither tendered nor publicly advertised. Yes, the previous government did the same, but has this government proven to be any different?
With regards to the prime minister’s allegations of breach of confidentiality, I wish to draw the public’s attention to section 47 of the Freedom of Information Act 2017, which deals with whistleblowers.
This says: (1) No person may be subject to any legal, administrative or employment related sanction, regardless of any breach of a legal or employment- related obligation, for releasing information on wrongdoing, or that which would disclose a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, as long as he acted in good faith and in the reasonable belief that the information was substantially true and disclosed evidence of wrongdoing or a serious threat to health, safety and the environment.
2) For the purpose of subsection (1), “wrongdoing” includes but it is not limited to:
(a) The commission of a criminal offence
(b) Failure to comply with a legal obligation
(c) Miscarriage of justice
(d) Corruption, dishonesty or serious maladministration
Was it not this administration that brought this Act into force, and most recently appointed the Commissioners?
On two occasions during my employment with the Ministry of Finance, I had the opportunity to appear before the United Nations Convention on Corruption to apprise them of the public procurement reform effort that I led for the past four years. The United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption is the only legally-binding universal anti-corruption instrument of which The Bahamas is a party. The Government of The Bahamas should be aware that organisations such as these, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank, all of whom are stakeholders in our economic development, are observing their actions, especially when it threatens its citizens for speaking truth.
What I find to be so ironic is that during the debate on Monday, Glenys Hanna Martin, MP for Englerston, in referring to my article stated that the writer was simply saying that since the Public Procurement Act was to be delayed until September this year, the government has a moral obligation, under best practices, to ensure that their mandated policy is for all procurement to be carried out through the e-procurement supplier registry is. So, why the outburst? Is it that the government is not serious about transparency?
Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister and minister of works, eloquently made his contribution to the budget debate last Thursday by listing the many projects his ministry had completed. He talked about parks being redeveloped, road paving and the renovations of certain buildings. He also rose to his feet during the prime minister’s contribution on Monday, June 21, and advised that the e-procurement supplier registry was being used. He was correct, but what he did not say was how many of the 763 registered construction companies on the e-procurement system had an opportunity to bid on all of those projects he mentioned through the e-procurement supplier registry.
An analysis of the usage of the e-procurement supplier registry by ministries and agencies was conducted, and it was discovered that – from April 2020 to February 2021 – the Department of Public Works created 15 restricted/selective bid notices on the system during which time they selected the companies who were to tender rather than having an open, competitive bidding process. They did create 22 other notices that were competitive, an extremely small amount for a department that initially had a capital works budget of $151m for the year 2020-2021. There are 2,200 registered companies on the e-procurement supplier registry, all waiting for business opportunities. Why is transparency in public procurement being delayed? Who is the “operational leadership” in the Ministry of Finance that would have given advice to push back the Procurement Act coming into effect to September 2021? They are unlikely to have public procurement experience or qualifications. If they had, they would have known better. I previously indicated that both the international consultant and the local procurement officer were no longer employed by the Ministry of Finance.
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By virtue of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) framework, we had revised many of our laws to clarify, and to give institutional definition around things like incentives and so forth, and it was a sentiment shared across the floor that this needed to be done.
But there will be, at some point in Jamaica’s development, special projects that are large and complex and frontier projects that would require the Government to enter into direct contracting. I believe that this project is one of them.
I believe that the Montego Bay perimeter road as agreed and acknowledged by the Opposition, and the Opposition leader, is a national project. We are developing our public administration and Jamaica has done very well in expanding its public administration.
We now have many institutions that deal with integrity and transparency and compliance, procurement and more. Where we are now is not trying to circumvent the very institutions that we have debated here in Parliament and established. What we’re trying to do is to make them work as we have defined them, but the presentations by the leader of the Opposition, and others, would suggest that in some way, the Government is acting outside of the established institutions, outside of the law, and that the Government is acting in a way illegally.
NOT ONE CENT WASTED
Today, the very people who would want to create that narrative were the very people who created the law to allow for this and we, Madam Speaker, on this side, carried it through with regulations in 2018, because it is well understood that this is an important part of our procurement process and it is not unusual to Jamaica.
We must make every effort to ensure that not one cent of Jamaican taxpayers’ resources is wasted: not one cent.
The leader of the Opposition totally ignores that there was a process in place, started by this administration with Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP), but continued and expanded by the administration led by members on that side called Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP), where multiple times what we are proposing to spend here was negotiated and there was no concern then about value for money.
Where was the concern about value for money by the then government, now in Opposition?
In the same way that the Opposition is now concerned about this exception that we are creating by approving this order, which will allow us to directly contract with China Harbour, that level of concern should have been expressed with equal energy and vociferousness then.
At that time under that arrangement, which was a loan, Jamaica taxpayers are still paying back those loans today.
So, I want the public to understand that we are not neglecting your best interest, as would be the suggestion of the Opposition.
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Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), Robert Hill, is expected to explain to members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) why almost 90 per cent of the 630 contracts the corporation awarded over a six-year period were done through the direct and emergency contracting procedure.
In a performance audit of the corporation in late 2020, the Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) stated that there were no records to support the basis for preselection of contractors.
In December 2020, the AuGD sent to Parliament a compendium report of performance audit management systems for farm and parochial roads for the KSAMC, the St Catherine Municipal Corporation (SCMC), and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).
It was reported that the main procurement methodologies utilised by the three entities combined, KSAMC, SCMC, and RADA, were limited tender and direct contracting.
Over a six-year period, the three public bodies awarded contracts amounting to more than $8 billion.
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis reported that even though the competitive tender provided the best opportunity for receipt of value for money, only nine per cent of the 769 road contracts over the period 2014-15 to 2019-20 were awarded using this methodology.
The report showed that the SCMC could not justify emergency classification for 23 contracts worth $22 million, while in 11 instances, works on contracts amounting to $15.4 million had started before agreements were signed.
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