No different from the PPPC

Dec 17, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Both the APNU and the AFC were strongly opposed to the Cabinet of the PPPC government granting no-objections on contracts. This is the reason why the APNU+AFC demanded, when in opposition, that the PPPC appoint the Public Procurement Commission.
The Public Procurement Act is crystal clear as to what happens when the Public Procurement Commission is established. It states that contracts above fifteen million dollars are subject to review by Cabinet but that once the Public Procurement Commission is established that threshold will be increased so as to phase out the involvement of Cabinet and promote decentralization.
The Procurement Act goes on to state that with the appointment of the Public Procurement Commission, the role of Cabinet will cease.
The APNU+AFC had campaigned on the basis that the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission would make Cabinet no- objection redundant. This was the expectation which the coalition created in the minds of the Guyanese people. The establishment of the Public Procurement Commission would spell the end of Cabinet review of contracts. This is what the coalition believing.
There was no talking about phasing out Cabinet review or weaning the Cabinet off of any such reviews. There was talk about ending the involvement of Cabinet in the award of government contracts.
The coalition was so serious about ending the involvement of Cabinet in the review of contracts that it promised that within its first one hundred days in office it would establish the Public Procurement Commission. The coalition was trying to woo the electorate to vote for them.
It conveniently ignored the fact that it alone could not appoint a public procurement commission. It needed the support of the PPPC. In fact, it is the Public Accounts Committee which makes the nominations to the parliament.
The Public Accounts Committee is chaired by the opposition and a qualified majority of the parliament was needed to approve the nominees. The APNU+AFC surely could not have been so delusional as to believe that it could have achieved that majority in the elections.
But that is politicians for you. They promise you the world when they are in opposition but when they get into power, it is a different story.
It was a different story despite the PAC appointing the nominees. The approval by parliament was assured. Yet it took some time between the selections by the PAC and the approval of the House.
Then it took some more delays between the approval of the House and the actual appointment of Commissioners. This fueled speculation that the government was trying to review as many contracts as they could and pass many more others before the Commission came into being.
Now we are learning that Cabinet is still granting its no-objection to contracts. This should not be happening and is in violation of the law. The Tender Board Administration should not be entertaining any Cabinet no-objection to contracts by government.
Nothing really would have changed in relation to procurement if the coalition continues along this misguided path. They would have been no different from the PPPC is they continue to be involved in granting no-objections to contracts.
The PPC should not allow this sort of behaviour. It is not consistent with the law. The involvement of Cabinet is supposed to cease with the appointment of the PPC. Government still controls the process because it controls the Tender Board. The obsession with lording over statutory bodies is becoming quite noxious.

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