Procurement issues with refinery sale
Trinidad and Tobago
The Joint Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) is alarmed but not surprised by statements attibuted to the Finance Minister, as reported in the media on May 31, that “the current procurement process being carried out by TPHL for the sale or lease of the refinery has been closely monitored by the Ministry of Finance for the last 12 months.”
What is even more appalling, is that Mr Imbert went on the claim, “the ministry is satisfied that the process has been robust and rigorous, and completely above board and consistent with best practice.”
The minister is fully aware that best procurement practice requires independent, transparent oversight as envisaged in the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act.
If the act was fully implemented, this TPHL transaction would be more palatable to the public, as the independent Office of the Procurement Regulator would have had legal oversight. The key word here is independent.
We cannot continue to tolerate himself-checking-himself as the Minister of Finance proudly announced. The government’s abysmal failure to complete this critical change in the way we do business with public money and public property, no doubt whatsoever, needs to be squarely laid at the feet of the Prime Minister.
He has tolerated, if not aided his Finance Minister’s copiously documented excuse after excuse since 2016. The PM himself promised the public, on the eve of the 2020 election, that full operationalisation of the act would be realised within a few weeks.
Seven years later, this ball was kicked into the court of the new Attorney General in March. The AG has since provided no timeline for taking his long-awaited note to cabinet.
Dr Rowley seems content to placate the masses with talk of transparency and accountability since 2015, when his government came into power. His legacy in this regard will be one of a failure to use his executive power to act in the best interest of the people.
He has effectively squandered the opportunity to stymie the rot of massive corruption with this world class procurement legislation. Any dent that could have been made on the endemic and systemic corruption in this country, by his administration, could have not only saved billions of taxpayers’ dollars annually, but also initiate positive transformational change in attitudes regarding accountability and transparency.
image: pexels-tima-miroshnichenko