Government’s tendering and procurement process will be reformed, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan announced during his Budget 2015 speech on Monday.
He told the National Assembly that the current process of government tendering and procurement has fostered an environment of unfairness and inequality, among other ills. “The present broken system needs to be fixed quickly. As an immediate step, Government has changed the composition of the tender board,” he said.
The minister disclosed that government has also moved to establish the long-awaited Procurement Commission, the legislated oversight body of the tendering process in Guyana.
“With financial support from the IDB, the Government will implement a project to strengthen and modernize public procurement. Through this project, we will aim to improve the efficiency and value for money in public procurement through strategic planning and the introduction of electronic Government Procurement (e-GP). The e-GP will allow all public authorities to manage their procurement process and Government purchases online; from advertising of bids, to receiving offers, to publication of contract award and post-award contract management,” the minister told the House.
He said that other activities contemplated are: revision of the Procurement Act and its Regulations; establishment of a complaints mechanism and debarment procedures that take account of international best practices; and training in modern procurement operations and tools.
In June, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said that after years of sole sourcing the new government intends that the award of contracts will be done in a transparent process.
Over the years under the PPP/C governments, the New GPC has been singled out for benefiting from sole sourcing. The pharmaceutical company was the main supplier of drugs for the Ministry of Health. Both the APNU and the AFC, which form the new government, have in the past expressed concerns about this situation and called for an investigation, particularly given indications that government was paying prices higher that the retail prices for certain drugs.
