(Part I)
During the last week or so, the purchase of drugs and medical supplies for the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Hospital once again made headline news in the print media. The issue at hand was the release of a set of evaluation criteria to be used to prequalify suppliers for the purchase of these essential items. The media reports claimed that the criteria were heavily weighted in favour of a local organisation that has been the Government’s main supplier since 2005.
Procurement arrangements prior to 2004
Up to 2003, there was no legislation governing public procurement. The Tender Board Regulations, supplemented from time to time by Cabinet decisions, were used but they did not have the force of the Law. Successive reports of the Auditor General from 1992 onwards were, however, fraught with incidents of violation of these regulations, especially splitting of contracts to avoid adjudication by the higher authority levels and to favour particular suppliers and contractors. The Police, the Army and the Supreme Court were the main violators.
Cabinet’s decision of May 1997 authorized the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Hospital to the purchase of drugs and medical supplies from specialized overseas agencies based on a system of selective tendering. This is different from prequalification proceedings in that these agencies were contacted and requested to tender for the supply of the required items. On the
