In our article of 9 October 2023, we had stated that the award of the contract for the construction of sluice and pump station at Belle View, West Bank Demerara, violated the Procurement Act for two main reasons, the contractor’s lack of the requisite experience in undertaking works of this nature as stipulated in the bid documents; and the contractor’s bid was the third lowest responsive bid. Despite a complaint filed with the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) by a Member of Parliament as to the basis of the award and the Commission’s on-going investigation into the matter, the Minister of Agriculture announced that the execution of the contract will proceed. One would have thought that the contract would be put on hold, pending the outcome of the investigation. What would happen if the PPC rules that there has been a breach of the Procurement Act in relation to the award of the contract?
