Procurement Board needs a home

The new Procurement Board needs a home. The board, appointed just last week by President Anthony Carmona under the Procurement Act, does not have a permanent place to meet, nor to house the Office of the Procurement Regulator and attendant staff.

In fact, board chairman (also the Procurement Regulator) Moonilal Lalchan told Newsday he has, so far, “been working out of different locations.” Lalchan said the office is searching for premises, but since it is an independent office, in order to maintain that image, it does not necessarily want to work out of a government office unless the space is separate or the Procurement Office is the only tenant of the building.

The board’s first meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday. Since the board was established, the reaction from various groups has been cautiously optimistic.

In a speech at a forum on Tuesday, chairman of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) Dr James Armstrong said while the procurement legislation has been partially proclaimed and the board appointed, to achieve the intended objective, there needs to be institutional support as soon as possible.

“It will take some time to change the culture of corruption in procurement,” he said.