The state bodies responsible for procurement had urged government to increase the thresholds for restricted tendering since last year as the sums catered for under the law “did not make practical sense,” according to Chairperson of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) Carol Corbin.
Corbin said over the years, state entities have been constantly breaching the Procurement Act in their use of the restricted tendering process and were warned of these violations by the PPC last year. Subsequently, she noted, both the PPC and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) notified government of the breaches and made recommendations for the thresholds to be increased as it was felt the sums were too low. “In the past, the procuring entities were breaching the law where they had restricted tendering for contracts more than $3 million and $10 million. We brought that to the attention of NPTAB and the government, that the entities were breaching the [Procurement Act of 2003],” Corbin told this newspaper in a recent interview.
Asked if she believed that the PPC’s observation and warning may have led to government increasing the thresholds for restricted tendering and Requests for Quotations (RFQs), she said it may have been a contributor. “It is possible, because the $3 million and $10 million did not make practical sense,” she said.