While government is moving to ensure 20% of all contracts go to small contractors from January 1st, 2019, Public Procurement Commission (PPC) Chairperson Carol Corbin says that it will need to change the procurement law to do so.
“It is in the Small Business Act but not in the Procurement Act. The Procurement Act is the principal act that governs procurement and which guides procuring entities,” Corbin told Sunday Stabroek in an interview.
“There is nothing wrong with giving preferential treatment… many other jurisdictions do it but it is in their act—South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and other places… We have done the research…but it must be in the law. The opinion of the PPC is that the Procurement Act must be amended before this can be implemented properly,” she added.
