The members of the recently established Public Procurement Commission (PPC) will meet tomorrow to, among other things, select its Chair as it prepares for operations soon.
“The PPC would be meeting with the PAC [Public Accounts Committee] this Thursday to finalise administrative arrangements so as to become operational,” PAC Chairman Irfaan Ali told Stabroek News yesterday.
Stabroek News understands that the members of the PPC and the PAC will also be discussing the conditions of service of the members, selecting an office and deciding upon the number of staff the commission would need to be functional.
After the Chairperson has been selected, the PAC Chairman will appropriately notify the National Assembly.
Last Friday, the five members—Emily Dodson, Carol Corbin, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Ivor English and former Minister of Labour Nanda Kishore Gopaul—took the oath of office at a ceremony held at the Ministry of the Presidency.
At the swearing in, President David Granger urged the PPC members to uphold the tenets of the constitution that require them to be independent, impartial and fair in the execution of their duties.
“The Government of Guyana iterates its commitment to the principles of accountability and transparency in the conduct of public business.
The establishment of the Commission evinces the importance of ensuring equity and fairness in public procurement. I congratulate you the members the members of the Public Procurement Commission and urge you all to be faithful to the oath you have just sworn. I charge you with upholding the constitutional duty of the Public Procurement Commission in being independent, impartial and fair,” President Granger was quoted by the Ministry of the Presidency as saying in a charge to the members of the PPC.
Vice-President and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, who was present for the swearing in along with Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of State Joseph Harmon, was reported as saying that the PPC is a campaign promise of the coalition government. “This is one of our biggest lobbying points to get proper accountability in this country and I am so proud that it has happened in the first half of our term after waiting for more than a decade,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The establishment of the PPC will now clear the way for the approval of the award of contracts to be handled by that body instead of the Cabinet and Ramjattan said that this will ensure that there is more transparency and accountability to the Guyanese people. “It will be a big plus for governance in this country and it is of course keeping with the Constitution of Guyana,” he added.
Among the commission’s primary functions are monitoring the performance of procurement bodies for adherence to regulations and efficiency in procuring good and services and the execution of works. It specifically has oversight over the procedures of ministerial, regional and national procurement entities as well as those of project execution units.
Further, the commission is empowered to investigate complaints from suppliers, contractors and public entities and cases of irregularities and mismanagement, with the power to propose remedial action in all instances.
