{"id":16283,"date":"2021-04-27T19:26:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T00:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=16283"},"modified":"2021-04-27T20:11:08","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T01:11:08","slug":"all-govt-contracts-will-be-made-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/all-govt-contracts-will-be-made-public\/","title":{"rendered":"All Govt Contracts Will Be Made Public"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALL government contract awards will be published online and in newspapers when a Public Procurement Bill being debated in the House of Assembly is passed and comes into force,\u00a0Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said\u00a0yesterday.<\/p>\n

The bill is among a compendium of finance bills that Dr Minnis said will boost transparency and accountability in government operations.<\/p>\n

Public information about contracts \u201cwill state what the contract is for, who it was awarded to and the dollar value of the contract,\u201d Dr Minnis said.<\/p>\n

A report will also be published at the end of the fiscal year that will compile\u00a0the information into a single document.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will help to address all the whispering, the rumours, and the political mischief that has gone on for decades in our country,\u201d\u00a0Dr Minnis added. \u201cThe citizens of The Bahamas will be able to see who is getting government contracts, for what purpose and in what amounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Minnis said under the bill, suppliers and contractors will be able to review the actions\u00a0of procuring entities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this vein, and for the first time, the bill provides for the establishment of a Procurement Review Tribunal, which will adjudicate disputes and complaints relating to government contracts, in accordance with the process established in the bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus, if a bidder believes that he or she was wronged during the bid process, they now, for the first time, have a formal recourse. In other arrangements, the bill sets out the ground and procedure for the suspension and debarment of a bidder; provides for the proper keeping of records of the procurement and the management of the procurement contract; and provides for the Procurement Act to be reviewed every five years by a committee of both houses of Parliament appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s procurement process has long been criticised both locally and internationally.<\/p>\n

In its 2020 investment climate statement on The Bahamas, the US State Department said this country lacks modern procurement legislation and that companies have complained that its tender process for public contracts is inconsistent.<\/p>\n

\u201cUS firms have identified corruption as an\u00a0obstacle\u00a0to FDI and have reported perceived corruption in government procurement and in the FDI approvals process,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The procurement bill maintains financial thresholds which will determine which entities are responsible for contract awards. Procurement units\u00a0will be responsible for\u00a0decisions\u00a0involving contracts that do not exceed $250,000.<\/p>\n

Internal tender committees\u00a0will be responsible for contracts worth more than $50,000 but less than $250,000, subject to approval from the minister responsible for the procuring entity. The tender\u2019s committee will make recommendations to the tenders board with respect to contracts valued above $250,000.<\/p>\n

A newly established Public Procurement Board will award contracts valued above $250,000 but below $1m. The prime minister will appoint the chairperson of the board.<\/p>\n

For contracts worth more than $1m, the board will be required to make a recommendation to Cabinet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the recommendation is not approved by Cabinet, the Cabinet may refer the matter back to the board for further advice or direct that a new procurement exercise is conducted,\u201d Dr Minnis said.<\/p>\n

more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image: Pexels, Anete Lusina<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ALL government contract awards will be published online and in newspapers when a Public Procurement Bill being debated in the House of Assembly is passed and comes into force,\u00a0Prime Minister…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":16284,"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":[166,121,110],"class_list":["post-16283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsdevelopments","tag-bahamas","tag-caribbean","tag-contracting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-anete-lusina-4792284-scaled.jpg?fit=1709%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-4eD","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17357,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pm-fires-warning-shot-over-procurement-whistleblower\/","url_meta":{"origin":16283,"position":0},"title":"PM Fires Warning Shot Over Procurement Whistleblower","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"July 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The prime minister yesterday seemingly threatened to disclose personnel file details on a former government employee who wrote an article challenging the administration\u2019s procurement reform implementation. Dr Hubert Minnis, while closing the budget debate in the House of Assembly, blasted Daniel Ferguson as \u201can angry man\u201d in response to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News\/Developments"","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\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4098369-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4098369-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4098369-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pexels-cottonbro-4098369-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28249,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/munroe-says-new-prison-contract-is-fnm-holdover\/","url_meta":{"origin":16283,"position":1},"title":"Munroe says new prison contract is FNM holdover","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"June 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said it was the Minnis administration that initially awarded a no-bid, multi-million dollar contract to Walker\u2019s Industries to build a high-medium security facility at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS). \u201cI met Walker\u2019s engaged,\u201d he said yesterday. \u201cPerhaps you should call Marvin Dames.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","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\/04\/pexels-cytonn-photography-955393-scaled-e1681427729598.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/pexels-cytonn-photography-955393-scaled-e1681427729598.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/pexels-cytonn-photography-955393-scaled-e1681427729598.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/pexels-cytonn-photography-955393-scaled-e1681427729598.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24803,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/live-up-to-public-procurement-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":16283,"position":2},"title":"\u2018Live up to\u2019 Public Procurement law","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"October 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas The Bahamas must \u201clive up to the letter and intent of the law\u201d on public procurement, a governance reformer urged yesterday, as he hailed the unveiling of the Government\u2019s new and upgraded tender portal. 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