Towards a Single Market for Public Procurement in Caribbean Small States
The first ever meeting of the Heads of Procurement of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) took place on June 20-21 in Barbados with the dark storm clouds of Tropical Storm Bret as the backdrop. Fittingly, the discussion focused on how to create a common market for public procurement and to use procurement as a tool to better prepare for and respond to the natural disasters endemic to the region.
The meeting, which the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) jointly organized at CDB’s headquarters, brought together Chief Procurement Officers from eight Caribbean island nations. Representatives from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the OECS Commission and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy Program also participated.
“The workshop served as a constructive platform for straightforward discussion on procurement and its attendant issues. The OECS countries were afforded a worthy opportunity to share experiences, consolidate a common understanding and set a path to further advance practical and realistic measures to modernize our respective procurement systems,” said Mr. Sean Cenac, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of his country’s Tenders Board.
In 2010, the seven full member states of the OECS signed the Protocol to the Revised Treaty of Basseterre – the OECS’s founding agreement. This protocol established an Economic Union between OECS countries, including a single currency and a Central Bank. However, with regards to public procurement, significant barriers to inter-island trade and cooperation remain.
During the meeting, the Heads of Procurement concluded that their national procurement systems were developed without coordination with the other OECS countries. This means that a patchwork quilt of disparate laws, regulations and guidelines now exists, creating a confusing and uncoordinated procurement system.
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Image: Delphinidaesy (flickr)