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Opposition wants seat on tender board
Opposition wants seat on tender board (Opposition Member of Parliament, (Ganesh Mahipaul)
Kaieteur News- Executive Member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul is urging the government to create a seat at the table of the National Procurement and Tender Board Association (NPTAB) for the opposition.
In fact, he said if the party gets into government at next year’s election it will create that space to reduce corrupt practices and ensure transparency in the procurement process. “Our call for a seat at NPTAB, and the regional tender board is not one where we want to be disruptive, is not one where we want to dominate, and it will be foolish for us as an opposition, to believe we can go on NPTAB and have a greater number than the government side.
Of course, the government side has to have a greater number. They’re in government. The opposition ought to be there to ensure the nation that whatever is done is being done in a transparent manner. It’s done with accountability, and it’s scrutinised properly,” Mahipaul said. He went on to say that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is against this but if the opposition has one or two representatives on the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, they will be able to see and expose public thievery.
Mahipaul reflected that when the APNU+AFC was in government opposition representatives were on the regional tender boards. “The regional bodies were allowed to elect their two persons and since the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had control of Region One two of two of the five members came from them. It was the same for Regions Two and Three as well.” “There was always opposition and government representation on NPTAB, (as well as) on the regional procurement and tender administration boards across this country…”
Jagdeo in recent times have been speaking about what his government has been doing to improvement the national procurement systems and recently warned that officers who are engaged in corrupt practices will face the full brunt of the law if caught. “If you have been engage in these practices and you get caught, don’t come and later complain about you have kids or you have a party card or you belong to a party or something like that,” Jagdeo told a news conference back in May.
The VP told the media then that there have been reviews and he has seen a lot written about corruption. In light of this the government has undertaken reviews at every level of the procurement system. “So let me put on notice all those people who are responsible for procurement in public corporations, statutory bodies, the ministries, regions, central ministries everywhere, all the way to the National Tender Board,” Jagdeo said.
He explained that the government is currently examining procedures for compliance and also activities for compliance with the laws. “And let me make it clear if we find that those officers are skirting the provisions of the law, the procurement law, then there shall be consequences for them.” Jagdeo said that there are too many instances where persons have been visiting Freedom House to report discrepancies. “People win a bid and then they try after the bid has been awarded they try to change the specs on the bid. Another issue is payment for people who have done their work and fully submitted their bills and the bills have been certified, some of the accounting officers in the ministries and the clerks they keep the processing of the payment for people for days on their desk. People have to run there ten times, they’ve completed the work, they have to run 10-15 times to get money for work that they already did,” Jagdeo stressed.
(Opposition wants seat on tender board)
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