Amid criticisms of it, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is inviting persons aggrieved over the award of any government contract to lodge a formal complaint so as to trigger an administrative review.
“Dissatisfied with the rejection of your bid? Lodge a complaint for an administrative review,” a notice in the state-owned Sunday Chronicle said.
The PPC pointed out that this country’s procurement laws provide for a review by it, should the complainant make their dissatisfaction known though a formal process within a specified period.
“The Procurement Act, Cap73:05 provides that a bidder whose tender or proposal has been rejected may submit a written protest to the procuring entity,” the PPC explained,
“The protest must be submitted within five business days following the publication of the contract award decision. If the protest is not reviewed or the bidder is dissatisfied with the review, the bidder may submit a request for a review within three working days to the Public Procurement Commission. Decisions on the review are final and binding on the procuring entity,” the Commission also noted.
Meanwhile, in a separate notice in the Sunday Chronicle on the issue of Debarment of Suppliers or Contractors, the PPC said that it is mandated by law, Cap 73:05 of the Procurement Act to adjudicate proceedings to debar.
“A procuring entity or any other person may submit a proposal in writing to the Public Procurement Commission for the debarment of a supplier or contractor. A debarment period may be for a minimum of one (1) year but no more than 10 years,” the PPC stated.
On debarment, it pointed out that “a procuring entity shall not solicit or accept bids, proposals or quotations from a debarred supplier or contractor, nor consider bonds, proposals or quotations submitted by a debarred supplier or contractor prior to the debarment. A debarred contractor or supplier may apply to the PPC for a reduction in the duration of the debarment period or its termination. “
Facing criticisms that it was not discharging its functions, the PPC had on April 24 of this year said that several complaints before it were “under active consideration”. The statement had come on the heels of a blistering from the Alliance For Change (AFC) that the procurement body was not doing its work.
AFC Parliamentarian David Patterson had blasted the PPC for spending taxpayers’ money but not executing its constitutionally enshrined functions and addressing complaints. He also expressed bewilderment that the PPC was seeking legal advice on its functioning despite the fact that a previous commission operated under the current provisions.
Patterson had said on April 21st this year that complaints were raised on the award of the following:
– Eight contracts awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise, by the Regional Democratic 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 Docu-ments.
Patterson had also said that he had been unofficially informed that the commission, after being dissatisfied with internal legal advice, was 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 being 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 Harbour Bridge feasibility study, which the PPC investigated,” Patterson said.
For more information and access to the relevant application forms, the PPC said that it can be found on the commission’s website at www.ppc.org.gy.
