Latest update April 24th, 2026 12:40 AM
Latest News
Public Procurement Commission
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- Guyanese are getting a raw deal from their Public Procurement Commission (PPC). Instead of a group that is vigilant and proactive in weeding out improprieties in procurement, the PPC is seemingly content to adopt a wait-and-react approach. Then, even in those circumstances, its efforts have been more restrained than vigorous, with worrying procurement issues hanging.
It took the PPC 14 months from September 2023, the date of the contract award, to visit the Belle View Pump Station and discover that a measly 4% of this $865M project was completed. Another three months elapsed before the PPC wrote the procuring entity, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) about why this is so, and what it is going to do. The project deadline of July 2025 now looks very much out of reach of the contractor, Tepui, Inc. One question on the minds of Guyanese is who in Tepui, Inc., is a front for PPP/C Government hustlers. So far, almost $200M has been advanced to Tepui, Inc., to commence works at the Belle View Pump station. In the local procurement shell game, some of those millions could be ending up not at the Belle View site, but with those who have influence over how contracts are awarded.
The PPC has danced around this controversial issue, and lacks the will to do much more than wait, write, and wait again. With the national tender system seen in the worst light, the PPC has been conspicuous in its spineless impotence. For one, the PPC cannot complain about lack of resources given the amount of money poured into the PPC, more is expected from it – much more when the procurement process speaks to corruption. The PPC’s budget went up by close to 27% in 2023, or $53.39M, with employment costs increasing by $115M from 2022. Weighing the hundreds of billions budgeted for procurement in 2023, and the PPC’s employment costs rising by almost 200 percent, what did taxpayers get for the money allocated?
Four investigations completed and two reports issued between July 2022 to December 2023. The government said that the PPC can only follow-up on complaints received, which is fair. It was subsequently acknowledged that a dozen requests (complaints) were lodged with the PPC, which raises the question of what this group is really doing. Is it making a genuine effort to get to the bottom of awards challenged for different reasons? To investigate only one out of every three ‘requests’ received is pathetic. What is the disposition of the other eight requests received from protesting bidders about procurement awards? Has anything been started? Or have those been allowed to die from inattention? We put this question before the government: is it the case that what the PPC does relative to requests (complaints) received is similar to what the Guyana Police Force cybercrimes unit is doing with reports of cyber violations filed with it by certain injured citizens? Human resource shortage cannot be a lament – it would hold no water. So, we persist: is there PPC selectivity in follow-through, or deliberate neglect?
The fact that in the same year and half, two reports were issued. Two out of four investigations (50%), and four such investigations out of a dozen reports made (33%) point to a nonperforming PPC. Regarding compensation, PPC members shouldn’t have any complaints, considering their cushy numbers and conditions. When the compensation and allowances of PPC members are considered, they have been well incentivized. But to do what, other than produce the negligible? The 14 months it took the PPC to discover the 4% Tepui progress at Belle View and three months to write NDIA speak volumes.
It is helpful to have a PPC, but only one that is a formidable and respected presence; that it is an entity, which will check seriously into complaints, notwithstanding its other duties. One of the better ways that a committed and conscientious PPC can do this is by being on top of matters like the Tepui contract performance. Too much has been spent on the PPC, too much is at stake, too little has come out of it. Much has been expected out of it. And what have Guyanese got, if not more smoke and mirrors?
(Public Procurement Commission)
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
