No procurement commission 74 days after parliament approved members

Jun 13, 2022 News

– Mahipaul calls out President Ali for “stifling transparency”

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – Opposition Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Commission member (PAC) Ganesh Mahipaul has called on President Irfaan Ali to immediately swear in members of the important Public Procurement Commission (PPC) after the National Assembly unanimously approved five names to fill the body since April 13 last.

Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul

It has been 74 days since the House gave absolute approval for Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase, Economist Joel Bhagwandin, Rajnarain Singh, Berkeley Wickham and Diana Rajcumar to function. Mahipaul is thus questioning government’s hold up, given the critical role the PPC plays in terms of transparency and accountability. The Opposition MP reminded that the PPC is the legally recognised body responsible for the oversight and review of all procurement systems within the country which includes the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministerial Tender Boards and Regional Tender Boards. It is the body where contractors can go to seek redress if they believe that there was an error or inconsistency within the bidding process that caused them to be affected.
The Procurement Act 2003, Mahipaul pointed out, speaks to bids going to the most responsive or lowest bidder. If a bidder feels aggrieved that they were overlooked for whatever purpose, they may protest the matter; ask questions, ask for an investigation. However without the PPC, this is currently not possible and contractors have been complaining bitterly to the opposition. Mahipaul said what is currently in place in the case of the NPTAB is that an ad hoc body called the Bid Protest Committee is set up by the NPTAB to hear the complaints of the aggrieved contractors. The problem with that is contractors would be complaining to the same people about the way they would have conducted the tender process. This method cannot be seen as a fair hearing because this ad hoc Committee “does not enjoy the confidence of the people making the complaint,” Mahipaul asserted.

President Irfaan Ali

From the standpoint of a lawmaker, he said he is concerned that for so long, the President has not done what is constitutionally correct by swearing the identified individuals and charged that by his inaction the President is stifling transparency. He insisted that the names did not enjoy a two-thirds vote or less, but absolute support of the Parliament which means that Guyanese support the swearing in of the PPC by virtue of the support of their representatives. Mahipaul continued that other laws have been passed under contentious circumstances, but the government found the means of activating them. For instance, he pointed out, the Natural Resources Fund was passed under very usual circumstances, but the President gave his assent the very next day. Here it is that the essential PPC was unanimously voted on and two months later, the body is still not functioning.
Mahipaul told the newspaper that he refuses to believe that President Ali is deliberately acting in a manner to exclude the guardrails of transparency and accountability. He said he refuses to believe that the President is afraid to activate the Commission because he has something to hide and is fearful of what the Commission might unearth. The Opposition MP imparted however, that if the President continues to act in the manner that he is by not swearing in the PPC commissioners, he would have to believe that the Head of State is indeed avoiding the implementation of proper transparency and accountability systems and that he is part and parcel of the complaints, the Opposition Coalition has been receiving form contractors about the procurement system.
He said that the PPC must be able to execute its responsibility in monitoring and reviewing the functioning of the Public Procurement Systems in accordance with law and such policy guidelines as may be determined by the National Assembly. He said this would address the concerns of contractors and suppliers who complain about being sidelined and about how unfair they are being treated by Tender Boards. “The PPC is a body established under our constitution to address their concerns. Today will mark 74 days since the unanimous approval of the National Assembly but the President is yet to swear in the Commissioners. What is causing this delay?” Mahipaul said the President must tell the nation what the holdup is, or swear in the officials immediately. Government MP and PAC Member, Gail Teixeira had said that with the process used, “I think we have found some very good Guyanese to be able to take on this responsibility and continue the work of the former PPC.” President Ali recent swore in members of the Integrity and Public Service Commissions.