Perhaps the entire country should move to Region 10

Apr 26, 2013 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

 

There is a Procurement Act in place that obligates the government to tender for all goods and services required by the State. As such, regardless of whether the Ministry of Education felt that there was only one provider which could have offered satellite up-link services for the Learning Channel, it is necessary by law for tenders to have been advertized seeking bids for the supply of this service.
It is not clear at this stage whether there was ever a public advertisement for the services which are presently being provided by TVG to up-link signals for the Channel. It is important that this information be ascertained since if and when that $3.8M per month contract comes up for renewal, there should be an insistence that the service be subject to competitive bidding.
One of the benefits of public tendering is that the country gets the best price possible. As such, when the government needs to procure a service, it tenders. It then assesses the various bids that are received. It can in the process even negotiate a better price, and since in the case of the Learning Channel we are dealing with the possibility of a demand for an up-link well into the future, then the prices surely should not be fixed, but should be reduced based on the sustainability of the demand and of course as technology allows for the up-link to be provided cheaper.
It does seem a bit strange that Guyana is investing so much in the Learning Channel and yet has to pay such a significant sum for the satellite up-link. With such a price tag, one would anticipate that in any part of the country, a student should be able to connect their television set to a rabbit ears antenna and receive a signal to the Learning Channel. Is that possible right now?
There are a lot of coincidences. It is interesting that at the same time that the Learning Channel was being contemplated, TVG was deploying a satellite up-link teleport. But what about NCN? How does it explain that it was not interested in providing the service?
There is no doubt that the Learning Channel is needed. The Learning Channel is a powerful educational tool that can impact positively on the performance of children in the school system. It can eventually also help reduce the need for extra-lessons.
Because of its educational benefits, there is likely to be a situation whereby persons in Guyana are likely to ignore concerns as to the manner in which the service is being up-linked. They are, for example, not likely to be concerned as to what it is costing the government. After all, if it is being provided free of cost, why worry about how the supplier of the satellite up-link was decided on.
But is the manner in which contracts are awarded not one of the main concerns about the procurement system of the government?  For example, there are serious concerns over the supply of pharmaceuticals to the health sector? There have been criticisms in the past that the system favours certain businesses, especially as this relates to pre-qualification.
The Opposition interestingly has once again passed the Budget for the health sector, inclusive of the supply of medicines over which it had made so much noise. It made no cuts nor did it make any provisional approvals or subject its approval to any demand for greater transparency.
Contrast this with the cuts that it instituted to the airport extension project even though last year it voted sums for this project. So it voted sums to start this project but has now effectively axed it after works have started.
It has contrastingly not axed any funds for the Learning Channel, but has cut allocations to the transport sector which will now be cash-strapped to effect repairs to the Chinese ferries which were recently damaged by a tug.
The Opposition has also instituted cuts to the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project. Their own experience should have instructed them as to what delays can mean for projects of this nature. Private investors are not going to sit around and wait until this issue of cuts is sorted out.
This is also one of the projects for which there were no complaints by the Opposition following a confidential briefing that was undertaken by the government.
What we have now is a situation whereby the government, because of the cuts, is threatening to increase electricity tariffs by about 17%. This will mean that consumers throughout Guyana will be paying about $60 per kilowatt hour. However, the opposition has safeguarded the right of the people of Region 10 to only pay between $5-$15 per kilowatt for electricity. For the rest of the population though, they still have to pay high rates with the possibility of an increase.
One of the ways to reduce the high cost of electricity was through the hydroelectric project, but by chopping that out of the Budget, the opposition is effectively ensuring that there will be no relief for consumers ever. Perhaps the entire country should move to Region 10 so as to benefit from reduced electricity rates!

---

---