Facing criticisms that it is not discharging its functions, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) yesterday said that several complaints before it are “under active consideration”.
In a statement, the PPC was responding to what it described as the “unfortunate, misguided and ill-informed statement” as published in the Sunday Stabroek of 23rd April, 2023 under the headline “AFC blasts procurement body, tells it to get to work” and which stated that the commission is “… not executing its constitutionally enshrined functions and addressing complaints.”
The PPC said that the impression was given that complaints before it are being ignored, particularly the matters referred to by the Alliance For Change (AFC).
“The unfounded nature of such contentions is exposed by the acknowledgement of being aware that the matters in issue are awaiting legal advice (albeit not accurately represented) and are therefore under the active consideration of the commission”, the statement said.
The PPC noted that it is an independent and impartial constitutional body established pursuant to Article 212W of the constitution of Guyana. It added that the functions of the commission are set out in the constitution and are enabled by the Procurement Act, Cap. 75:03 which establishes the procedure and processes for the execution of these.
“The commission wishes to assure the public that it is executing its functions, at all times maintaining the highest standards and ensuring that it is so doing within the ambit of the law.
“We further wish to urge restraint in unfounded public statements which could undermine public confidence and in turn undermine the effectiveness of such bodies”, the PPC said.
On Friday the AFC blistered the PPC and accused it of not doing its work.
Reading from a statement, AFC Executive and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson said that several complaints had been dispatched to the PPC requesting that it conduct investigations into contracts awarded by the Government, some of which have engaged the public as well as the Auditor General but to date no official acknowledgement of receipt has been received.
Patterson said that complaints were raised on the award of the following:
– Eight contracts awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise, by the Regional Demo-cratic Council, Region #9, totalling $106.8M. This contractor had been debarred by the PPC in November 2019 until December 2030. These awards were also flagged in the Auditor General’s report of 2021.
– A contract awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise for the four-lane Highway from Eccles to Great Diamond, by the Central Housing and Planning Authority, totalling $890M, this Contractor as mentioned before was previously debarred by the PPC.
– A contract awarded to St8ment Investment Inc. for the construction of the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Patterson said that public records showed that this company was established only eight months prior to the award, bringing into question if the company would have met the technical criteria as set out in NPTAB’s Standard Bidding Documents
Patterson noted that the PPC hosted a public day on April 18, 2023 and the opportunity was taken to attend and get an update. Engagements were held with several staff members, including the Chief Executive Officer and a Commissioner, unfortunately, while acknowledging some awareness of the complaints, Patterson said that he was informed that only the Chairperson would be able to provide an update.
Patterson said that he had been unofficially informed that the Commission, after being dissatisfied with internal legal advice, is in the process of seeking the following legal advice from external sources:
– To determine if the Commission can execute any of its functions listed in the Constitution, which is the supreme law of this country.
– To determine if the Commission can carry out any investigation into any breaches which occurred before they were sworn in in July 2022.
– To determine, if only Suppliers or Contractors directly associated with a specific Contract can request investigation not members of the public.
“This is a bizarre and unorthodox position since a Member of Parliament previously brought a complaint regarding the Demerara Habour Bridge feasibility study, which the PPC investigated”, Patterson said.
He said that the PPC, after receiving a budget of $262M, is currently enjoying spending the taxpayer’s money, but it is only now trying to find out if it can function as it is constitutionally mandated to do, after being almost one year in office.
“In other words, the PPC is now of the opinion, despite internal legal advice, it is a powerless commission, without any legal framework to execute its constitutional mandate. The AFC rejects this position and calls upon the PPC to commence executing its constitutionally enshrined functions”, the statement said.
