{"id":27624,"date":"2023-04-27T23:51:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T04:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=27624"},"modified":"2023-04-27T20:01:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T01:01:32","slug":"amendments-to-procurement-act-good-but-theres-still-opportunity-for-strengthening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/amendments-to-procurement-act-good-but-theres-still-opportunity-for-strengthening\/","title":{"rendered":"Amendments to Procurement Act good, but there\u2019s still opportunity for strengthening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bahamas<\/p>\n

THE executive director of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) supports government\u2019s plans to reform the Public Procurement Act, saying that there is still opportunity for strengthening.<\/p>\n

Governance reformer Matt Aubry has spoken on the public procurement legislation repeatedly, having previously given recommendations to the government.<\/p>\n

Mr Aubry is hopeful that The Bahamas is able to take the necessary steps to make the awarding of government contracts more open, transparent and accessible after progress had stalled following the Public Procurement Act\u2019s implementation during the Minnis administration\u2019s final days.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted aspects of the Public Procurement Act which \u201cmaintained a very high standard\u201d, while also suggesting aspects to be incorporated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that in the instance of the Procurement Act, that there were a lot of things that still maintained a very high standard,\u201d he told this newspaper yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the requirement to publish (notice of a contract award) within 60 days across the government, that was something that brings tremendous amounts of transparency, and so we\u2019re really glad that something like that continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cAlthough neither administration yet has enacted it, what we do here is that there\u2019s a process in place, and a new vendor that will be utilised to start with reporting those, that\u2019s going to be a critical element and if that\u2019s able to happen, it creates great opportunity for a lot more folks on taking advantage of government contracts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing that we saw in the new bill, was the specification for preferences in the prior act it had talked about as having a domestic preference, which basically means that you could put greater weight on local vendors, over international vendors. This act made it even more specific and said specifically youth-owned businesses, Family Island-owned businesses, and businesses owned by women, which is phenomenal and we very much support that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Aubry reiterated ORG\u2019s recommendation to be more inclusive of individuals with disabilities, which would be in support of the Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n

Asserting that it was critical that the government now \u201cbuild trust in the system\u201d that all bidders will be treated fairly, and have an equal opportunity to provide goods and services to the public sector, he voiced concern about the reformed act, saying that the government failed to present how the process is appealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we know in procurement, an active and transparent procurement process, can be a tremendous movement to reduce the potential of any type of corruption, because it\u2019s transparent,\u201d he said yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the vendors need to be registered and vetted and then the processes of how those selections are made should be really specific. And both the prior act and this one have lots of specificity in that instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you get when you say made an appeal, or you\u2019ve made a bid, and that bid was taken by somebody else was won by somebody else, and you have a concern that it might have been chosen for some other reason, having a very clear and independent way to appeal, that process to get it looked at independently, is really important in terms of building folks\u2019 trust and compliance with this type of legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public procurement, if used correctly, and in a fair, transparent and accountable manner with open, competitive bidding for government contracts can be an important tool of national development by facilitating the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n

It can also ensure taxpayers receive value for money, and eliminate waste, inefficiencies and other unnecessary expenses and loss in the tender process.<\/p>\n

The House of Assembly passed the Public Procurement Bill and Public Finance Management Bill on Wednesday. Prime Minister Philip Davis said the legislation, once enacted, will allow improved government financial management and greater transparency.<\/p>\n

The bills will also repeal and replace the Public Finance Management Act 2021, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2018 and sections of the Financial Administration and Audit Act and The Public Procurement Act 2021.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Mr Davis said the government\u2019s digital procurement platform has generated $2.6m savings in just four months since its launch, as close to 1,500 companies have registered with the electronic portal with almost 300 public sector contracts put out to bid through it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

image: Business-Office-Contract<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Bahamas THE executive director of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) supports government\u2019s plans to reform the Public Procurement Act, saying that there is still opportunity for strengthening. Governance reformer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":4992,"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":[250],"tags":[166,110,73,71,125],"class_list":["post-27624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-bahamas","tag-contracting","tag-legislation","tag-procurement","tag-public-procurement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Business-Office-Contract-Agreement-Deal-rawpixel-Pixabay.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-7by","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21395,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/bahamas-struggling-with-the-execution-in-corruption-fight\/","url_meta":{"origin":27624,"position":0},"title":"Bahamas \u2018Struggling With The Execution\u2019 In Corruption Fight","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"March 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas \u00a0 The Bahamas is \u201cstruggling with the execution\u201d of anti-corruption safeguards, governance reformers are warning, with accountability and transparency \u201caspirational\u201d rather than real concepts. Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance\u2019s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that The Bahamas lacks an \u201cintegrated anti-corruption\u201d strategy that\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\/2022\/01\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841812-scaled-e1648207457324.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841812-scaled-e1648207457324.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841812-scaled-e1648207457324.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841812-scaled-e1648207457324.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24803,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/live-up-to-public-procurement-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":27624,"position":1},"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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