Might does not make it right

THE EDITOR: Having paid close attention to the debate on the Government’s amendments to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, one can’t help but get the impression that, despite its declaration otherwise, the Government has no real interest in the tenets of the act – promoting transparency and accountability in public procurement – other than for fluffy talking points.

Of course, the Government has sought to defend its proposal to remove a barrage of services from the purview of the procurement regulator by affirming that as elected officials the Government should not be hamstrung by a non-elected official in the achievement of its mandate, a position which on first glance seems perfectly reasonable.

However, closer inspection of the issue reveals that the role of the procurement regulator is not intended to be a replacement procuring entity for the State, but, as the name suggests, a regulator and scrutiniser of the State’s procurement processes. In fact, upon full proclamation of the act the State will be further empowered to manage its procurement processes in a much more efficient and regulated manner, away from the current Central Tenders Board system.

This therefore raises the pertinent question as to why any government would seek to remove the procurement of such services from the scrutiny of the regulator. Surely, the procurement regulations can provide for such exceptions in emergency situations as argued by the Finance Minister.

So why remove the whole thing? Doesn’t that just serve to weaken the legislation before it’s even proclaimed? Has the Government simply conceded that despite the lauded objectives of the procurement act political expediency trumps procurement integrity?

Has it merely decided to throw caution to the wind, at the expense of what little remaining trust and confidence it would have engendered in the population over the last five year?

While the Government has since been able to acquire the bare parliamentary majority needed for the passage of its highly contentious amendment bill, it would do well to note that “a lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good just because it's accepted by a majority” (Booker T Washington).

Might doesn’t make it right.

A PHILLIP

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