Cabinet will retain its ‘no objection’ role in the award of contracts, something which it had persistently lobbied against while in Opposition and which it had promised to changed once elected to Government.
This is apparent as there seems to be some amount of contradiction between Government and the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) about its role to give
President David Granger and members of the PPC
“no objection” to contracts, something, Government said the recently established body would be tasked with.
Coming out in defence of its work and responding to reports in the media, the PPC said it needed to clear the “misconceptions” about its real functions as a recently established procurement body.
According to the body, recent media reports have contributed to the notion that the PPC has not yet commenced its work, resulting in the continuing role of Cabinet in the national procurement system, whereby it issues “No Objection” to the award of contracts.
However the body said that since its establishment in October last, it has been carrying out some basic preliminary works, required by the Constitution before it could begin carrying out its mandate, which incidentally does not include the granting of “no objections” to contracts.
These included, the election of a Chairperson, followed by discussions with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the benefits and conditions of service for the Commissioners, the determination of a staff structure for the establishment of a Secretariat, including the preparation of the terms and conditions of the proposed staff, of which, the three principal officers require the approval of the National Assembly”.
It said in pursuit of this mandate, Commissioners have been meeting almost daily, and in the absence of a fixed office.
It continued that following a detailed review of the applicable legislative framework, it engaged several stakeholders within the national procurement system to sensitise them to the role and functions of the PPC. In this regard, members of the Commission said it interfaced and held discussions with more than 100 public officials from several agencies and departments that function in the public procurement system and deal directly with procurement matters.
Seeking to give clarity, the PPC laid out its functions and responsibilities, which it said are set out in Article 212AA (1) a) to m) of the Constitution, as well as, Section 17 (2) of the Procurement Act, Chapter 73:05. They are to monitor and review the functioning of all public procurement systems to ensure that they are in accordance with law and such policy guidelines as may be determined by the National Assembly; promote awareness of the rules, procedures and special requirements of the procurement process among suppliers, constructors and public bodies; safeguard the national interest in public procurement matters, having due regard to any international obligations; monitor the performance of procurement bodies with respect to adherence to regulations and efficiency in procuring goods and services and execution of works; approve of procedures for public procurement, disseminate rules and procedures for public procurement and recommend modifications thereto the public procurement entities; monitor and review all legislation, policies and measures for compliance with the objects and matters under its purview and report the need for any legislation to the National Assembly; monitor and review the procurement procedures of the ministerial, regional, and national procurement entities as well as those of project execution units; investigate complaints from suppliers, contractors and public entities and propose remedial action; investigate cases of irregularity and mismanagement, and propose remedial action; initiate investigations to facilitate the effective functioning of public procurement systems; enlist the aid of such persons, as may be necessary, to assist the Commission with expert advice; liaise with and refer matters to the Police and the Auditor General; and do all other acts and things as may be necessary to facilitate the efficient discharge of the functions of the Commission.
Earlier this month, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that PPC is still inactive as it still was in the process of recruiting competent employees and that Cabinet would stop granting its no-objection when the PPC is ready to work.
“Once they say to us ‘we are ready to function’, then Cabinet will cease doing anything, but since these are public infrastructural projects that need to be executed, we cannot just sit and wait,” the Minister of State posited.
“Once the PPC indicates that they are ready, and then Cabinet will pull back,” he emphasised. Harmon also admitted that though the PPC has been inactive, the Commissioners have been receiving their salaries.
Reports indicate that PPC Chairperson Carol Corbin is receiving $1.3 million monthly, while the other Commissioners are earning some $900,000 per month.
The other Commissioners are Nanda Gopaul, Emily Dodson, Ivor English, and Sukrishnalall Pasha.
The PPC statement comes days after Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said it is deeply disappointed over the omission of the Procurement Commission to assume its constitutional mandate and discharge its statutory functions.
The Party said the Procurement Act provides that once the Commission is established, Cabinet’s no-objection role in the awarding of contracts ceases.
