Representatives of the IDB and PPC during their engagement
The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on Wednesday met with representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to enhance the execution of its functions towards strengthening procurement processes in Guyana.
The PPC is vested with oversight of the public procurement system and is, inter alia, responsible for organising training seminars on procurement and making recommendations to the subject Minister for amendment(s) to the legislation to enhance the efficiency of the procurement process.
During the meeting, several key matters were addressed, including a pledge by the IDB to support and guide the PPC in international best practices in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for monitoring the procurement process, execution of contracts oversight, and standard bidding documents.
This includes international best practices in the evaluation process, evaluation guide, and standard evaluation report format.
In addition, the IDB is committed to collaborating with the Commission in training evaluators in international best practices for the evaluation process. This builds on previous training exercises of the PPC supported by the IDB.
Further, the meeting follows prior engagements between the two sides particularly in the area of legislative reform aimed at improving Guyana’s public procurement framework emanating from the 2018 Report, “Strengthening of the Public Procurement Framework in Guyana.”
In the past, the IDB has engaged with the PPC on various initiatives, and other areas of support, including training for contractors and suppliers in IBD-funded projects.
The PPC maintains an ongoing working relationship with the IDB to continually strengthen public procurement systems.
The meeting was part of the PPC’s commitment to fostering collaboration and implementation of best practices to optimise procurement procedures for the benefit of the nation.
The Commission was represented by its Chairman, Pauline Chase; Deputy Chairman, Berkley Wickham and Commissioners Dianna Rajcumar, Joel Bhagwandin, and Rajnarine Singh along with its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Singh.
The representatives from the IDB included IDB Representative in Guyana, Lorena Solórzano Salazar; Chief of Operations, Iván-Alonzo Gaviria and Procurement Specialist, Patricia Yamilee Payen.
