(Trinidad Express) The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) wants Government to ramp up its procurement legislation and include mechanisms for review of tenders, complaints and disputes.
Speaking to reporters yesterday at a workshop on “Doing Business Under IDB Funded Projects”, at the Hilton Trinidad, IDB country representative Michelle Cross Fenty said while the bank has not yet seen the final draft of the legislation, which is currently being reviewed by Cabinet, it has identified some gaps in the current law.
“We would like to see the applicability of rules and regulations to all public entities including State-owned enterprises. … We are really hoping once procurement legislation is completed it really can be on par with international best practices and the reason why this is so important is because the procurement legislation will be able to boost foreign direct investment and improve the doing business metrics of Trinidad and Tobago as a whole,” she said.
But these shortcomings in the legislation do not affect Trinidad and Tobago’s opportunity to access IDB funding, she added.
“There are certain mechanisms we have in place—certain stages in progress that the bank will require non-objection and if the government can’t get the non-objection from the bank we do have the legal right to not make that payment.
“In addition, our procurement rules apply to any procurement activity that involves funding from the IDB, whether it be on the grant side or the loan side,” she said.
The Trinidad and Tobago portfolio is around US$500 million, and while all loans are different, the country is able to access them at very low interest rates.
Fenty said yesterday’s workshop was for all interested private contractors with services to provide to the IDB, including consulting services—those who will provide goods and services to the government under contract according to the terms of these loans.
Once that Government project is funded by the IDB the private contractors will have to go through the IDB procurement process, Fenty said.
In August, Finance Minister Larry Howai signed an “aide memoire” with the IDB for the bank to provide funding and expertise to the government to develop its Public/Private Sector Partnership Programme (PPP).
The plan will in its first stage prepare for the establishment of medical diagnostic centres throughout Trinidad and Tobago (under its line ministry, the Ministry of Health), as well as construct ten primary schools and ten early childhood care centres across the country.
“We are moving ahead (with the schools). It is a rather tedious process and it’s really important we approach it very methodically and take our time. We are on track to hopefully meet our tender by next summer,” she said.
