UNC appeals to President not to proclaim procurement law

FINANCIAL consultant and former opposition senator Ved Seereeram has appealed to President Paula-Mae Weekes not to proclaim the Procurement (Amendment) Act.

Repeal of the procurement and disposal of the public property legislation and the impact of the amendments on the management of the public purse and public assets were the topic of the United National Congress (UNC) round table discussion on Saturday evening.

The UNC has also drafted a petition which is in public circulation for the repeal of the amendments, which Naparima MP Rodney Charles said have weakened the original bill, removing critical services by public bodies and state enterprises from the scrutiny of the procurement regulator.

Charles called for the restoration of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Property Act 1 of 2015 to its original form, saying the original act is stronger, more comprehensive in its remit and allows for transparency and oversight in the procurement and disposal of state assets.

He said the bill is so gutted that,"The Prime Minister could jump on a plane and go to Australia, buy two boats just so, under a government-to-government arrangement and we can’t say anything.

“He can sell the Port of Port of Spain, if he wishes, under a government-to-government arrangement with little oversight. He can dispose of Petrotrin just so, mamaguy Roget (Ancel Roget, head of Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd, whose offer to purchase the refinery was rejected). He could sell NP gas stations to friends and families and financiers.

"All we could do is talk.”

Seereeram said while signing the petition will show public disatisfaction, lawyers need to explore the constitutionality of the amendments and whether government is in breach of its fiduciary duties.

“We are undergoing a very difficult economic time in TT and I am making this public appeal for the President not to proclaim this bill, for the simple reason it is going to take us into greater debt and further economic peril.

“We do not have to wait too long to see the results in the event this bill is proclaimed,” Seereeram said

He said there was no doubt the act in its original form was a major step in the right direction where all arms of government and state enterprises would have been subject to a uniform code and rules on the procurement and disposal of public property.

He said the regulator would have had the responsibility to ensure best practices were employed and authority to regulate the process and apply penalties where due,and train vast number of civil servants and state enterprise employees in the procurement and disposal process, including management and directors.

“The Government in its wisdom, or lack thereof, has introduced many exemptions that rendered the act impotent.”

He said the amendments has effectively created two sets of regulators, one being the regulator and the second being the Minister of Finance, which is a recipe for disaster.