REO Carl Parker responds to concerns over regional tender process

May 08, 2019 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

I would like to put to rest once and for all any speculation that the tender process in the Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo Region was not above board. It is quite necessary since this country has a history of unchallenged untruths passing as facts.
As Chairman of the Regional Tender Board, and Regional Executive Officer, I have always endeavoured to be ideal, even in the face of extreme difficulties. However, there are some detractors who are hell-bent on having things go their way all the time.
The most recent such person is Rommel Harrinandan, the brother-in-law of the Regional Vice Chairman and a teacher at the St. Ignatius Secondary School in his letter “Lethem AFC PR concerned about issues surrounding Regional Tender Board” (KN May 06 2019). He was on a cuss out trip which I will not dignify with a response except to say that as a teacher his presentation leaves much to be desired; and this is one of the challenges I am faced with. I am faced with teachers in the system who are passing on that level of education to our children. Hence the challenges these children have in consistently doing well at school. The quality this teacher displayed is a hang-over from a time in the not too distant past. Better will come.
To set the records straight: I am not, and have never been a pal of Mr. Rommel Harrinandan. I was never driven by his father in any part of this country. In opposition, I walked anywhere I went, until I was gifted a motorcycle by Mr. Joseph Harmon in 2011; or catch a bus if I were going to Georgetown. I was not on any campaign trail with Mr. Harrinandan nor have I slept in any house with him; unless of course, he slipped in while I was asleep. He had a brief affair with my daughter. I never knew about it until the relationship went sour. If that ever did happen, then it speaks volumes of his character.
So Mr. Harrinandan is being delusional on this score.
Secondly, the Procurement Act empowers Accounting Officers to award contracts in various categories. For Regional Executive Officers, the categories are; up to $650,000 – 3 or more quotes without going to Tender Board; $651,000 – $10M – Selective Tendering. That is 3 or more persons are invited to tender competitively. The Award must be done by the Tender Board; Open Tender. This can be done for projects $651,000 – $20M. These have to be adjudicated by the Tender Board.
Mr. Harrinandan would have done well had he researched the issue before, as he put it, “I made sure what I am saying here is factual…” Added to that is the fact that the law prescribes what should happen after awards. That includes posting the awards at prominent places for perusal by the public and sending copies to the Public Procurement Commission. Tenders are public business, and this REO has nothing to hide.
Had he checked, he would have noticed that there was a copy of the awards at the Lethem Post Office Notice Board, where all and sundry could have taken a very long read. There was no need to have the document “leaked” as he put it.
Another issue is that, I and I alone as the Accounting Officer, determine whether or not to use the selective method of tendering. As a long-time resident of the Rupununi, I am aware that the rains, as we are presently having, will be on us and as such it is imperative to push in as much work as possible before that time. It is what is referred to as the “low hanging fruits.”
Had he taken the time to research, Mr. Harrinandan would know of the time line between advertising and award. This he would realize would have been an impracticable proposition. I guess he is too bitter with hatred to realise the impact those selective tendering has had on the economy of the Region, which was somewhat stagnated as a result of the few contractors employed last year, some getting as many as 7 jobs in one go. This year, 7 jobs were given to 7 different contractors which resulted in more residents on the employment list. More families were able to benefit from the Public Procurement Process (no pun intended).
As to calling persons dunce exhibits his character. I have known many a men who can neither read or write, but have displayed aggressive business acumen. There will always be persons greater and lesser than us. That does not give us the right to denigrate them. Many persons, as he referred to them as dunce, would put him to shame in their field.
I do not care about race, or any other categorisation when I do my work. I look at the human side of things. This is exemplified in the number of villages, many of whom did not support the Coalition, which I have worked with, giving contracts to the Village Councils to stimulate their respective economies. Some of these villages are: Surama, Toka, Shulinab, Mururanau, Masekeneri, Yarong Paru, Tiperu, and Taushida.
From that list, Mr. Harrinandan can identify who supported the Coalition and who did not.
I will close by saying that Mr. Harrinandan was very contradictory when he referred to himself as an AFC candidate and an opposition member in the same breath. Maybe his brother-in-law, who has not attended a single Tender Board meeting since I returned to the Region on the 7th January, is putting words in his mouth.
I stand by my record.

Respectfully,
Carl Parker
Regional Executive Officer
Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo

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