The nominees for the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) are still to be formally accepted by the members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The process was further delayed on Monday as it was announced that the background checks for three of the nominees are still with the acting Commissioner of Police, Nigel Hoppie.
PAC Chairman Jermaine Figueira on Monday told Stabroek News that while members have agreed to the names proposed, they have to formalise the process. He noted that the process was delayed as the Police Commissioner is yet to provide due diligence on three of the nominees named by the government.
According to Figueira, the commissioner had requested copies of the nominees’ birth certificates and those were provided.
It is now hoped that the report will be provided soon and by next week they will approve the names for the commission. After this, the names will be proposed in the National Assembly and once it receives a two-thirds majority the commissioners will be appointed by the President.
After more than six months of deliberations, a subcommittee of the PAC settled on five names for the PPC which positions are meant to be full-time. The selection of the names was arrived at within the last month.
The APNU+AFC has changed one of its nominees from economist Rawle Lucas, who was initially nominated by the coalition, to AFC member, Diana Rajcumar.
The other nominees for the committee are attorney-at-law, Pauline Chase; financial analyst, Joel Bhagwandin; Rajnarine Singh for the PPP/C; and Berkley Wickham of the APNU+AFC Coalition.
However, Bhagwandin’s nomination has been seen as contentious since he was recently appointed Managing Director of TriStar, the company owned by Florida, USA-based Guyanese Kris Persaud.
The appointment will raise various questions as PPC members are meant to be full-time employees even though some of the previous members were allowed to undertake other jobs.
Further, with the rapid expansion of state contracts in the oil and gas sector, observers say it is possible that a conflict of interest could arise where Bhagwandin might have to adjudicate in cases involving shore bases that may appear before the PPC.
Contacted by Stabroek News about his appointment to the West Demerara-based company, Bhagwandin said that there will be no conflict between his two roles as TriStar has no plans to bid for government contracts.
“It is two completely different areas and there is no conflict. We [TriStar] won’t be competing for any government contracts… If TriStar was in the business of competing for government contracts it would have been a conflict and I would not have accepted the [PPC] position,” he assured Stabroek News.
Bhagwandin also pointed out that the post of PPC Commissioner was not a full-time one, as he pointed to previous commissioners who had other jobs.
The PAC Chairman has since stressed that it is important there not be even a hint of a conflict of interest in the membership of the procurement commission. “With the advent of the oil and gas industry coupled with the Natural Resource Fund Bill that was passed, and the fund the PPP will be heavily relying on for 2022 budget, you can foresee that several projects will be funded directly or indirectly by oil money. It remains to be seen, if such public projects which the PPC has to examine, pose a conflict to his private business dealing.”
He added that with both the PPC Commissioner post and the PPC General Manager position requiring full-time attention, it may be best to choose someone else who does not convey a perception of having a conflict and who can give dedicated time to the post that taxpayers would be paying for.
“While I’m unsure if the gentleman’s new position will present any conflict of interest, what is equally important for an institution such as the PPC, is to avoid the perception of conflict of interest,” Figueira noted.
Several months ago, former PPC Chairwoman Carol Corbin voiced her concern that crucial reform work done by the commission could be in jeopardy if the body was not reconstituted quickly.
It is unclear if there have been protests from bidders over contract awards made last year, as it was the PPC that would have informed on the number of cases it had received.
In October 2016, and more than 13 years after Guyana’s Constitution was amended to provide for the PPC, the procurement oversight body was established. Corbin, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Emily Dodson, Ivor English, and former Minister of Labour, Nanda Kishore Gopaul, were the first commissioners.
The life of the last commission expired in October 2020.
