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“No contract evaluator above the law” – NPTAB Head warns
By Kiana Wilburg
For years, Guyana’s Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, has been bemoaning the poor performance of evaluators when it comes to the public procurement process. Issues such as improper record keeping for decisions made, failing to meet timeframes and conflict of interest have been the top three areas of concern in the last five years.
The Government, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), launched a two-day workshop yesterday at the Marriott Hotel seeking to correct the aforementioned issues, among others.
Delivering remarks at the event, Head of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Berkley Wickham, highlighted the need for irregular practices by evaluators to come to an end.
Wickham said, “With the Establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) local contractors are more than before resorting to Bid protest, whether frivolous or not and in so doing, evaluators find themselves in the spotlight of scrutiny over their recommendations. Often the media engages in the process of second guessing procurement decisions too.”
NPTAB Head, Berkley Wickham
The NPTAB Head added, “Procurement decisions are also the subject of public audit. For these reasons, continuous evaluator training is essential and I wish to acknowledge and express gratitude on behalf of the Government of Guyana to the IDB for facilitating this and other such training sessions which complement the ongoing training sessions done annually by the NPTAB.”
As the evaluators in attendance geared for the two-day training session which comes to an end today, Wickham shared some key tips which should be followed at all times.
Wickham said, “You are engaging in a process which is not your day job. Evaluation is a group activity and you need to put this activity as a priority when called upon. There can be no defence for failing to meet the fairness or time frames required in each evaluation.
“Also, defending a decision afterwards is no substitute for doing things properly the first time.”
The NPTAB Head stressed that conflicts of interest and bias are bad news for defensibility of an evaluation. Further to this, he said that “no records mean no defence.” Wickham said, “You should be able to have your notes on how each evaluation you are engaged in went.”
Wickham also told the evaluators that they should avoid peer pressure. “You should be ready to stand behind what you sign for.”
The NPTAB Head added, “No one involved in evaluation is above the law. When it comes to protecting the integrity of the tendering process involved all are consumed.”
Turning his attention to the value of the programme, Wickham said that it prepares the nation’s evaluators for now and what is to come as Guyana moves towards attaining 21st Century Public Financial Management of which Public Procurement is a Principal Business Area.
He remarked that the legal framework for procurement in Guyana will soon be changed and among other areas, there will be new methods of procurement. He revealed that evaluation criteria will become more specific.
The NPTAB Head said, “This is not intended to scare you but in the real world of Guyana, you will find that in the past, the evaluation process may not have been challenged. You should never confuse poor and untested past practice with proper practice. ”Wickham also noted that in the face of a legal challenge, not knowing the rules is not a winning defence. “So let us all strive to be winners,” he concluded.
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