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Corruption – tendering

Dec 14, 2021 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Guyanese scream bloody murder on every occasion that corruption shows its dirty, sickly face.  Things are so bad here that those Guyanese who care are screaming all the time.  When consideration is given to what is officially in place to function as a powerful filter, the question is why corruption continues to plague this country in the manner that it does.  Today, we look at what is called the tendering oversight process.

Any state project that is GY$15M and above requires an expert evaluation from a team of engineers or proven technically competent people.  Part of their expert evaluation includes a careful review of the records of those bidding for public works projects, such as the provision of goods and services ranging from building to supplying to consulting, and the many other things in which a country gets involved, or for which it has a need and demand.Those who declare an interest to bid for any project over that GY$15M must submit bid documents that state their bona fides that qualify them for consideration, or cause them to be rejected out of hand, because they don’t measure up, or possess what is required in advertisements placed by one of two agencies.

The first is the procurement body, usually a ministry or some other state agency, and the second is the government appointed group that sits as a screener/decision-maker of such projects, which is known as the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).  There are various teams of evaluators that form an essential part of the screening of the bid process.  As an example of one in the local arena, such a team of evaluators could come from and consists of a senior engineer from the Ministry of Public Works (for bigger, costlier projects), and a resident engineer (or more) from the procuring entity, along with others from other fields of expertise, usually determined by a very senior public officer in the procuring ministry or state agency.

It goes without saying that whichever team of evaluators is finalised, it has much work before it, and great responsibilities to fulfill.  Responsibilities involving taxpayers’ money, the urgency of the project or programme, and the sensitivity of what is placed before it.  Among the areas that the team of evaluators must review are the kinds of skills and relevance of those bidding for what is needed.  Also, the types of specialised equipment that may be required to get the job done efficiently.  Then, there is a look at whether bidders have a successful history of handling projects of such magnitude, vis a vis,the financial backing,the clearances, the coverages, and the whole range of underlying competencies and resources necessary to complete timely and satisfactorily.  Like we said, which this snapshot provides, it is much gruelling work, possibly with limited hands.

As for the evaluating teams themselves, given what has happened in the past and keeps happening today, it becomes necessary, perhaps vital, that some issues are put on the table and in the open, so that longsuffering Guyanese paying through the nose, have a clear understanding of what they are paying people for, and what they are getting in return.  This is especially meaningful in the case of evaluating teams.  The issues are best presented in the form of a couple of questions.

First, how are bidding reviews conducted?  How are the final decisions on recommendation(s) are made? Do the members of the evaluating teams sit in the same room throughout and at the same time and sift through the huge stacks of documents containing tedious details about numbers and places and people and what they have or don’t, and did or didn’t?  To expand: are they discussing and debating, weighing and measuring, arguing and disagreeing about pluses and minuses of projects, and of who should qualify and who shouldn’t?  Are evaluators conducting project reviews TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY? Or does one person sit alone and makes decisions that are emailed to the others?  Last, what compromises do they reach to agree on bidders, while rejecting others?

These questions present serious concerns for Guyanese because of the shocking occurring, when bid winners are announced.  Something is wrong, something is not working somewhere.

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