WHAT IS THERE TO HIDE?

Feb 07, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Trying to gain information from the government is like trying to obtain a state secret. Even the most basic inquiries is like trying to break into a secret vault.
This newspaper had repeatedly tried to obtain information on the specifications for certain public works, information which is supposed to be public. This newspaper has been repeatedly told that we should tender for the project about which we are seeking to obtain.
This approach stinks of contempt and disregard, not just for the media but for the ordinary citizen, which depends on the media to be a watchdog against excesses by the state.
What is there to hide? Why would anyone when asked for information about a government project tell a newspaper that they should tender for the project or they should go and purchase the bid documents in order to get the required data.
The media is not into tendering. If they were then they would have been unable to comment on the projects which they have tendered for and this would have undermined their role as a watchdog for the public.
And why is it that certain government agencies cannot make available the specifications of projects or goods offered for procurement? Why would any government, seriously committed to transparency, refuse to make public the specifications of projects.
Right now the public wants to know what are the specifications for the laptops, which have either been or are to be procured for the “One laptop per Family” project. There was a little mix up in the National Assembly over the actual price of the laptops to be procured. The minister concerned has said that she initially made a mistake when she announced that the price was $295,000, instead of US$295. Everyone makes mistakes but that was really what Guyanese would call a “beef stake.”
The public understands that these slip of the tongues will occasionally happen. It can happen to anyone and we should not be too harsh on the minister for this slip- up which was clarified the next day. But the fact that a price was quoted raises further questions. Was the price quoted an estimated price or was it a price that was agreed?
If it is an estimated price then this should be stated. The government could not have been expected to quote an actual price for a project like this where some 90,000 laptops or net books or whatever they are called are to be distributed. Now if 90,000 of these instruments are to be distributed then it means that a tender has to be issued, and as far as this newspaper is aware, no tenders have been invited for such a project and no awards have been announced.
Therefore, any figure which is being allocated in the national project for the procurement of these instruments has to be an estimate. This is to allow for monies to be allocated prior to the contract being out to tender and an award made.
So assuming that there has been no award made, two questions arise. How was the estimated cost arrived at? If it is net books that are being procured, and in such large quantities, then the unit cost should not be that high. The price of net books, which are really small computers, are coming down dramatically. It may be possible if these net books are coming out of China to have these instruments for under $100.  So how then is the estimated cost US$ 295 per unit?
If these net books can each be obtained  at US$ 100 cheaper than the estimated price, it means that the taxpayers of Guyana who are ultimately financing this project can save  some US$9m or  one billion, eight hundred million Guyana dollars. That’s a great deal of money, which we should be keen on saving.
This is why even though there has been a correction to the price of the computers, the stated price is still way too high because it should be possible to obtain decent net books for under US$100, moreso if you are acquiring such large quantities.
The second question that arises if it assumed that there have been no tenders so far for the laptops, is, where did the government obtain those laptops that they distributed at the formal launch of the project? It was reported that there was some distribution. Therefore it needs to be asked where did those laptops come from and what price was paid for them. It also needs to be asked whether there were tenders for this aspect of the project and when will the tender for the other laptops be issued.
Now if simply to obtain this basic information, Kaieteur News is going to be expected to enter a bid, it may be all well for the contract to be awarded to Glenn Lall because the Guyanese public can be assured that there is no way that a Glenn Lall is going to pay any US $295 for any laptop, not if he is purchasing 90,000. And if Kaieteur News has to tender for such a project, the Guyanese public would get all the details of such purchases, including who are the suppliers, the names and addresses, the shipping costs and more importantly the specifications of the units to be imported.
Why cannot the government do the same and simply state whether there has been any tender, and if so then from whom were the computers so far distributed purchased? Now surely that cannot be a state secret, can it?

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