Issues over procurement protocols

​THE EDITOR: I refer to press reports that, "State-owned development company Nidco, the project manager, acted as just a 'rubber stamp'." This was reportedly said by Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal, member of the Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure at the sitting earlier in the week of the JSC which is conducting an enquiry into the Point Fortin contract.

The Joint Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) understands that the alleged wastage of public funds occurred before the new procurement legislation was enacted and operationalised in April 2023 and therefore the alleged "enablers of the associated corruption and wastage" cannot be penalised under these present laws.

While that may be the case, the JSC should seek to at least name and shame the relevant people for this travesty. Imagine that the OAS was paid US$150m or 20 per cent of the contract sum, as an advance payment, when the tender was based on ten per cent?

We would like to think that this cannot happen today as complaints can be filed under Section 41 of Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act of 2015 to The Regulator of the Office of the Procurement Regulation (OPR). In other words,the state entity, NIDCO in this case cannot be directed or pressured by powerful enablers, without these transgressions coming to light via the OPR.

The JCC cautions the public that too much time has elapsed since the annual report from The OPR was due at the end of 2023 and it yet to be delivered to the House of Representatives.

The impact of the new procurement laws is heavily reliant on this OPR annual report, which will provide transparent information to the public for the first time in the history of this country of exactly how much public money has been spent; how is spending these monies and who are the contractors and service providers.

We cannot underscore the vital importance of this information nor the following information that the OPR has to include in the report:

(i) the number of procurement contracts awarded;

(ii) the number of procurement contracts varied;

(iii) the quantum of those variances;

(iv) the number of unfulfilled procurement contracts an the quantum of cost incurred;

(v) with respect to the procurement for a project, a brief description, the awardee, the value, the scope of works and the expected deliverables of the project; and

(vi) lessons learnt as a consequence of the management of procurement contracts;

FAZIR KHAN

President, JCC