Public Procurement Commission…Lack of political will hinders appointment of Commissioners

May 20, 2013 News

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– former Auditor General  

Although about 70 percent of the $177.4B 2013 national budget represents the procurement of goods and services and the execution of works, the Public Procurement Commission is still to be established to ensure accountability and transparency.
This is according to Anand Goolsarran, former Auditor General, who said, “After 12 years, the Commissioners are yet to be appointed, leaving observers to the inescapable conclusion that Cabinet does not want to relinquish its role in public procurement. That apart, there are credible allegations that contracts are not being awarded in a fair, competitive and transparent manner to ensure the best value for money is achieved.”
There are allegations that contractors are pressured by corrupt officials into giving kickbacks to secure lucrative contracts.
According to Goolsarran, the World Bank has estimated that as much as 20 per cent of financial resources are lost in some developing countries, especially with regard to infrastructure works as a result of inefficiency, substandard work, inflated contracts and kickbacks.
“In the Guyana context, I suspect that the figure of 20 per cent is a fair assessment of what is taking place here,” he stated.
In fact, only last year a contractor, Falcon Transportation and Construction Services, alleged that his contract for Lot One of the East Coast Demerara four-lane expansion project was terminated because he refused to give kickbacks.
However, the Ministry maintained that the contract was terminated because of poor execution of works along with the suspected forgery of some documents.

Goolsarran blames the lack of political will to have accountability as the primary reason for the non-existence of this vital Commission. He added that accountability has not been one of Guyana’s strengths, dating back to the People’s National Congress leadership.
He said that in 1992 under the leadership of President Cheddi Jagan, Guyana had started the process of accountability but gradually slipped backwards and it is now on the backburner.
The Public Procurement Commission was established by a constitutional amendment of 2001 to remove the involvement of Cabinet in the award of contracts for goods and services and the execution of works.
However, the Commissioners are yet to be appointed. The joint Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), has already submitted the names and resumes of their nominees to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly.
In fact, the AFC has listed Goolsarran as one of their nominees to be appointed to the Commission.
Responding to a query of when Government will submit their nominees to the PAC, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said that President Donald Ramotar definitely sees the need for the conclusion of this matter. “And encounters between the President and the Leader of the Opposition David Granger would bring forth enlightenment.”
According to Goolsarran, while Guyana awaits the appointment of the Commissioners, the public procurement system has a significant gap in the sense that there is no oversight of the operations of the National Tender Administration and Procurement Board (NTAPB).
He explained that Cabinet cannot exercise that oversight responsibility since it only offers no objection to contracts in excess of $15M and can only return a contract to the NTAPB for further review on procedural grounds.
“That apart, the NTAPB reports to the Minister of Finance, a Cabinet member, who advises the Cabinet on procurement matters. It would therefore not come as a surprise that few, if any, contracts are returned to the NTAPB. In addition, it is not publicly known who are the members of the various tender boards and when last they were rotated or replaced after serving, say, two terms of three years, in keeping with established practices,” he said.
Goolsarran pointed out that there is also provision in the Procurement Act for the appointment of a Bid Protest Committee but there is no evidence that such a Committee has been established to deal with complaints from contractors in relation to the award of contracts.
Because the awarding of contracts appears to only benefit a few companies and individuals, many contractors prefer not to bid for projects. He explained that with the activation of the Public Procurement Commission, competitive bidding would be indirectly encouraged.
The AFC in a paid advertisement in the Kaieteur News said that the Public Procurement Commission is the only forum to which complaints about contracts can be made and its absence has led to the award of questionable contracts.

“Its absence will continue to allow the perception of thievery, corruption and favouritism. Only concerted pressure by the people and persuasion will see it coming into being,” the AFC said.

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