{"id":13206,"date":"2020-07-02T12:15:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T17:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=13206"},"modified":"2020-07-02T11:36:55","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T16:36:55","slug":"one-year-too-long-pm-laments-tedious-delays-in-procurement-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/one-year-too-long-pm-laments-tedious-delays-in-procurement-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Too Long &#8211; PM Laments Tedious Delays In Procurement Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Andrew Holness wants forward planning for procurement in place to lessen the time spent engaging the gears of bureaucracy.<\/p>\n<p>Holness was speaking on Thursday at the commissioning of a $33-million, 110-ft-long bridge spanning the Wag Water River and which links Airy Castle, Bowden Hill, and Stony Hill in the St Andrew West Rural constituency represented by Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister bemoaned that it took a year for the bridge to be installed despite his understanding that the parts were already in the island at the National Works Agency.<\/p>\n<p>He said that the construction of the bridge was not particularly complex and that the completion of the work should not have been bogged down by technicalities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we need to start doing as a society is to start planning for procurement. The truth is that in any other country, we would not be waiting until the bridge collapses because I gather this bridge is almost 70 years old,\u201d Holness said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 What really should have happened is that before the bridge collapsed, our economy should be revving so much that we have the revenue to say, \u2018Take down this bridge, expand it, and put a bigger bridge with walk-foot capacity on it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jamaica\u2019s procurement of goods and services is often stifled by red tape and cultural lethargy, but the reams of paperwork and layers of oversight are often geared at curbing and catching graft.<\/p>\n<p>The island was ranked in the 2019 Corruption Perception Index as the fourth most corrupt state among Caribbean countries, behind Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti.<\/p>\n<p>With a score of 43, Jamaica\u2019s ranking dipped sharply from 70 to 74 out of 180 countries.<\/p>\n<p>But after a year of much displeasure, Bowden Hill residents can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the bridge is once again open to them.<\/p>\n<p>Kingston-based Chin\u2019s Construction won the tender to construct the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>Latoya Liscombe, whose house is a few metres away from the bridge, could not hide her joy as she strolled across moments before the commissioning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the best thing to happen here in a while. Can you imagine how important it is to get this bridge back up and running?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to walk several miles around on the alternative route, and sometimes I would go further up and cross the river, but when it comes down, I am stranded. So yes, I am happy,\u201d Liscombe said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"allcaps\">RENEWED INTEREST<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The principal of Bowden Hill Primary and Infant School, Nathalee Brown-Nicely, was also elated.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 <a href=\"http:\/\/jamaica-gleaner.com\/article\/lead-stories\/20200619\/one-year-too-long-pm-laments-tedious-delays-procurement-practices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Image:\u00a0 fernando zhiminaicela (Pixabay)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Andrew Holness wants forward planning for procurement in place to lessen the time spent engaging the gears of bureaucracy. Holness was speaking on Thursday at the commissioning of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":13215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[112],"tags":[124,71,125],"class_list":["post-13206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsdevelopments","tag-jamaica","tag-procurement","tag-public-procurement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hourglass-Clock-Schedule-Minutes-Money-Glass-Old-fernando-zhiminaicela-Pixabay-jpg.jpg?fit=1024%2C638&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-3r0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26456,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/corruption-prosecutor-to-probe-holness-conflict-of-interest-allegation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":0},"title":"Corruption prosecutor to probe Holness conflict of interest allegation","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"February 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamaica The report said that Garvin is \u201cpersonally\u201d known to Holness and had been employed both in his St Andrew West Central constituency and his personal business. \u00a0- File photo The Integrity Commission has referred a report implicating Prime Minister Andrew Holness in an alleged conflict of interest to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/transparency-and-accountability-Free-Press-Free-Press-Action-Fund-flickr.jpg?fit=781%2C250&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/transparency-and-accountability-Free-Press-Free-Press-Action-Fund-flickr.jpg?fit=781%2C250&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/transparency-and-accountability-Free-Press-Free-Press-Action-Fund-flickr.jpg?fit=781%2C250&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/transparency-and-accountability-Free-Press-Free-Press-Action-Fund-flickr.jpg?fit=781%2C250&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26659,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pm-holness-at-centre-of-possible-conflict-of-interest-probe\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":1},"title":"PM Holness at centre of possible conflict of interest probe","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"March 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been cited for a possible conflict of interest in the awarding of Government contracts totalling millions of dollars to an entity - Westcon Construction Limited - and has been referred to the Director of Corruption Prosecution at the Integrity Commission for possible further action.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4605,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/bridge-for-chesterfield-to-arrive-in-jamaica-by-end-of-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":2},"title":"Bridge for Chesterfield to arrive in Jamaica by end of March","author":"Michele Marius","date":"February 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"THE National Works Agency (NWA) has announced that the bridge that was promised to residents of Chesterfield, St Mary, should be in place by the start of the next hurricane season. The bridge, the NWA said in a release Tuesday, is one of seven that are now being fabricated in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/footbridge-autumn-fall-bridge-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/footbridge-autumn-fall-bridge-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/footbridge-autumn-fall-bridge-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/footbridge-autumn-fall-bridge-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C685&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20281,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/hearts-gabbidon-bows-out-over-conflict-of-interest-pressure\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":3},"title":"HEART&#8217;s Gabbidon bows out over conflict-of-interest pressure","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"January 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamaica \u00a0 Edward Gabbidon has resigned as board chairman of the HEART\/NSTA Trust amid concerns about his position and the relationship his company, SynCon Technologies, has with the troubled skills training agency. It comes months into a\u00a0Sunday Gleaner\u00a0investigation that brought the issue to light and just days after HEART's portfolio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668481-scaled-e1654222643649.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668481-scaled-e1654222643649.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668481-scaled-e1654222643649.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668481-scaled-e1654222643649.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20284,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/why-heart-nsta-trust-chairman-edward-gabbidon-resigned\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":4},"title":"Why HEART\/NSTA Trust Chairman Edward Gabbidon resigned","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"January 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamaica \u00a0 EART\/NSTA Trust Board Chairman Edward Gabbidon has resigned in what he has noted is a move not to allow individuals, for political gain, to\u00a0use him as a distraction from the valuable work of the Trust. Gabbidon resigned on Friday last week in a letter he sent to Prime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-thirdman-5060979-scaled-e1646951879770.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-thirdman-5060979-scaled-e1646951879770.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-thirdman-5060979-scaled-e1646951879770.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-thirdman-5060979-scaled-e1646951879770.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8118,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/warmington-blasts-decision-to-let-petrojam-select-forensic-auditors\/","url_meta":{"origin":13206,"position":5},"title":"Warmington Blasts Decision To Let Petrojam Select Forensic Auditors","author":"Michele Marius","date":"February 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A junior\u00a0minister in the Andrew Holness administration yesterday sided with the parliamentary Opposition, suggesting that the management of the scandal-scarred state-owned oil refinery Petrojam should never have been given the responsibility to craft the terms of reference for the forensic audit into the $5.2 billion oil losses uncovered at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Magnifying-glass-theilr-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Magnifying-glass-theilr-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Magnifying-glass-theilr-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Magnifying-glass-theilr-flickr.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13216,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13206\/revisions\/13216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}