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Spending and overseeing

Oct 31, 2023 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is on a tear, with the allocating and spending of millions upon millions on one public works project after another. In a simple description of what is going on in this new Guyana, capitalism is on the march, and at high speeds.  For the best to be had for the dollars spent in the name of Guyanese taxpayers, it must be a nonnegotiable condition that there are systems and rules, plus robust procedures, in place. Still, it is the people who process and dispense by the billions that matter, make the laws and rules come alive.  The same can be said for those who stand in oversight of such people, processes, and procedures.

The numbers are mammoth.  Over GY$350 billion from the national budget for capital projects, meaning some infrastructural building. Then, hundreds of millions of American dollars withdrawn from the Natural Resources Fund.  Cumulatively, numerous bids for projects are handled by the National Procurement Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), which means sensitive responsibilities.  NPTAB has some knowledgeable, trustworthy officers, but some of its decisions are nothing short of baffling.  In the context of Guyana, suspicious might be the more suitable word.  Nonetheless, the NPTAB has to be a bulwark that provides citizens with the confidence that their funds are competently awarded in the form of contracts approved, and that such were done in the cleanest fashion.  In other words, the best qualified bidders are those who emerge as winners for public service contracts.

Though it is troubling to say in the public sphere, it cannot be avoided.  The NPTAB has not done justice by Guyanese taxpayers recently, and it was not the first time that controversy has swirled around its decisions.  The reek of political influence has been high, and it is not the most inspiring situation when the composition of entities like NPTAB has so many political presences.  It may be open to any manner of speculation and the conclusions that follow, but who is indebted to whom comes under closer and harsher scrutiny. The trust that is so precious to an entity like the NPTAB starts to wither away, and before long it becomes virtually nonexistent.

We at this newspaper would be heartened to come out in full support of the NPTAB(s) of Guyana, but we can only do so comfortably when the record is there to justify.  All it takes is one bad award that muddies the reputation, and whatever smooth, clean handling of other taxpayers’ business that was overseen before is quickly forgotten, and all too easily dismissed.

In the same vein, there is the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) which came into being after an extended delay.  The PPC has a crucial role to play, which is that of a vigilant watchdog.  It must be a watchdog that has earned the respect of observers and the public as a whole.  The best way that the PPC attracts accolades for its work is by being on the ball, and not coming across as stuck in a reaction mode.  Or, worse still, it is only galvanized into action, when public outcry indicates sharp and sustained interest in some award of the NPTAB that generates heavy controversy.  This is not in the best interests of the PPC group, and its functions as an overseer of the first line screener (NPTAB) loses some of the vital goodwill that is integral to its standing.

The PPC, like the NPTAB, certainly has some good names in its circle.  How they maintain that status depends on how alert the commission is to developments out of NPTAB, the timing of its response.  A recent award by the NPTAB stirred considerable surprise in Guyana, to put it mildly. The latest is that PPC finally shook itself awake and wrote the NPTAB for the details behind the award.  This action by the PPC took too long in coming, which puts it in a less than positive light. When the competition for tax dollars is neither fair nor clean, then the PPC must be in the forefront of righting things.  Given current performance, both the NPTAB and the PPC could do with a makeover and making the matters they manage right by taxpayers.

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