The life of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) unfortunately came to an end yesterday at a crucial juncture both in terms of the work that it had been doing and the country’s intersection with the imminent oil and gas economy which will see a vast expansion of procurement.
It is unbelievable that the caretaker administration of President Granger did not take steps to enlarge the terms of two of its commissioners to ensure that there is continuity between this PPC and the future one to be appointed. This is all the more important since the appointment of this PPC took more than 15 years following the approval of reforms to the Constitution. It is hoped that a new PPC can be swiftly appointed but with the unconstitutional status of the government and the requirement of the input of the Opposition Leader, it does not seem as if an appointment will be made before general elections on March 2, 2020. It is therefore shocking that President Granger took no steps to ensure that two of the five commissioners could continue presiding at the PPC for another year by which time a new commission would have surely been appointed.
In an exit interview with Stabroek News, PPC Chair Carol Corbin stated that she had written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, drawing his attention to the impending expiration of the terms of the commissioners.
“I formally wrote the Speaker of the National Assembly because remember we report to the National Assembly, [bringing] to his attention that as of the 27th of October, the tenure of the commissioners would end,” she said.
“It is the President who appoints the commissioners after the process of selection and approval by the National Assembly,” she added, noting that the Speaker had said he had transmitted the communication to the Ministry of the Presidency. No action has apparently been taken and this is distressing considering the crucial work done by the PPC.
Indeed, the PPC term has ended right at the point at which it finalised debarment regulations and implemented them. Thirteen companies and persons have now been proscribed from bidding for government contracts for varying periods because of infractions against normative procurement practices. For decades, the absence of debarment legislation has allowed some contractors to run rings around procuring agencies and procurement oversight bodies all the while defrauding taxpayers through bribery and poor construction.
The debarment regulations now give the wherewithal to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to ostracise known offenders. One company was debarred by the PPC based on a request by the NPTAB and the others on the basis of their being blacklisted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The debarment regulations allow the PPC to take corresponding action once recognised multilateral agencies like the IDB have decided that a severe breach of procurement rules has occurred. As Mrs Corbin said, it is now for the NPTAB to do its due diligence to ensure that contractors don’t pull a fast one. For example, the debarred contractor could easily resurface under a new name or use relatives to get around the system.
Of course, the PPC has a role to play in this process which is why the extension of the term of two of its commissioners and the urgent reappointment of the entire body are crucial. A tribunal to challenge decisions of the PPC is also an important component of the architecture.
It would be difficult to project what percentage of taxpayers’ money is bled away each year in the procurement sector through corruption and the incapacity of contractors but the figure would be substantial and with the approach of the oil and gas sector, the figure will rise and more carpetbaggers will try to get a piece of the action.
Under PPP/C administrations, there were myriad complaints of corruption and consternation over the selection of contractors. Two such cases stand out: the road to Amalia Falls and the construction of the Specialty Hospital. No self-respecting evaluation committee or NPTAB would have presided over these. Both contracts were terminated in the end. Valid questions were also raised about favouritism in the procurement of health supplies – a huge sector. Early in the life of this administration, the emergency procurement of $605 million in drugs by the Ministry of Public Health underlined the astounding breaches of procurement laws. The ministry was also clearly infiltrated by corruption and large sums were and are therefore at risk.
The PPC should be commended for the work that it has done thus far. However, this can be easily undermined by the lack of action to ensure continuity. It is yet another area where the government’s intention to defy the constitutional edict for swift elections will impact.
