Procurement Reform: A Good Idea Arriving Too Late

Nov 01, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

At his weekly press conference on October 17, 2025, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that the government will launch a national procurement website in 2026 – a step that, on paper, points in the right direction. But if we suspend belief that this may also serve to muzzle the press by diverting valuable government advertising from print media, a key revenue stream that sustains independent journalism, the initiative could still mark progress toward transparency. Yet the reform comes very late. Many of the government’s largest contracts, awarded in the energy, infrastructure, and housing sectors, have already been concluded without public visibility or competitive scrutiny.

The Vice President has stated that “all contracts will be advertised, and transparency will improve.” Yet, as it stands, the website exists only as a promise. Until 2026, contracts will continue to be advertised through newspapers and agency notice boards – methods the government advises are fragmented, slow, and easily missed by the wider public. Even if we accept that rationale, the delay itself raises the question: how, after more than five years back in office, is this only now being conceived? It reflects a government still struggling with transparency and strong oversight in public procurement.

This delay raises legitimate concerns about whether the reform is substantive or symbolic. The absence of an immediate rollout means near-term projects, some of them multimillion-dollar undertakings, will still move through opaque processes. And given this government’s poor record of timely implementation, especially in areas touching on oversight and accountability, the public has little reason to be confident that 2026 will bring the promised transparency. Without independent oversight and timely disclosure, the risk of favouritism, inefficiency, and misuse of funds remains.

This gap between promise and practice, potential and performance, can be closed only by decisive steps now. If the administration is serious about restoring confidence in public procurement, it must move beyond press releases to action: fast-track the website’s implementation, mandate online publication of all existing contracts, and empower independent watchdogs to monitor compliance. A good idea delayed is accountability denied – and by 2026, the biggest deals may already be history.

Yours faithfully,
Sherod Duncan

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Bharrat Jagdeo, Letters, Procurement Reform, Sherod Duncan

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