Public accountability, transparency important to Guyana’s development path – President

…as Public Procurement Commission sworn-in

The Public Procurement Commission was on Friday sworn-in by President Dr Irfaan Ali at the Office of the President, taking Government one step closer in having all commissions in operation.
Of the five-member commission, four took the oath to serve on the commission for three years. They include Financial Analyst Joel Bhagwandin, former National Procurement and Tender Administration Board Chairman Berkley Wickham, AFC Executive Member Dianna Rajcumar, and Rajnarine Singh.
The fifth person, Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase will sworn-in by next week.
President Irfaan Ali noted that important to the transformation is accountability and systems to allow for public expenditure to be handled in a transparent manner.
“This Government has embarked on a development path that is transformative. Important to that transformation are issues of public accountability, transparency and ensuring that the institutional mechanisms and systems that allows public expenditure to occur are not only strong but they are continually renewed. The job of the Public Procurement Commission is one that adds to that tier of institutional mechanism that we have established in our country to ensure oversight of public financing, in this case, financing,” the Head of State relayed.
He underscored that the Commission is charged to conduct such intensive oversight. Specific skillsets are required for members of this body, and the Head of State has placed full confidence in the combined expertise.
“Your role and responsibility cannot be overstated. That is why there is specific skillset that are required and the Constitution speak to, in relation to members of the Public Procurement Commission. I have al confidence that the combined experience, knowledge and diverse expertise of the members of this commission will add value to your work.”
Pauline Chase currently serves as President of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA), while Bhagwandin is the former director of the Private Sector Commission (PSC). Along with Singh, these three were selected as the Government-nominated candidates.
Up until 2021, Wickham served as the Chairman of NPTAB. Rajkumar is an AFC Executive member and under the APNU/AFC Government, she was the personal assistant to former Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.
The PPC has the vital role of overseeing contract approvals and mediating contractor complaints. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is responsible for approving members of this Commission, as well as requesting background checks on candidates, had been engaged in the process of seeking members since last year, before the five names were finally arrived at in January.
Among the PPC’s key functions are, according to the Procurement Act, to “Monitor and review the functioning of all 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 bodes 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 to the public procurement entities.”
The PPC has in the past intervened in contracts when there was a discrepancy with the procurement of the contractor. One of the most famous cases of this was the sole-sourced consultant for the design and feasibility study of the new Demerara River Bridge.
Meanwhile, the final person on the Police Service Commission, Hakeem Mohamed was also conferred with the instruments to take up his position. The President has informed that the Teaching Service and Judicial Service Commissions should be finalised in the shortest possible timeframe.
“There is some final membership that is required so that we can bring the commission into full force when it is appoint. We’re hoping that the final set of recommendations in allowing the appointments can be made in the shortest possible timeframe so that we can proceed with the appointment of these two commissions,” President Ali disclosed. (G12)