The government is working to improve its performance this year in the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).
According to a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP), Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, yesterday acknowledged that while there are challenges, government has found workable solutions to aid in the timely implementation of the PSIP. He noted that Government is investing and will continue to invest in areas that are most needed by citizens.
Speaking at the conclusion of a PSIP meeting of Ministers of Government, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries, held at the Baridi Benab and hosted by President David Granger and chaired by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, the Finance Minister said,
“Today’s meeting was very important from the standpoint that the Public Sector Investment Programme itself is very important in our national economy. In fact, in Guyana’s case it takes up a sizable part of our Gross Domestic Product. There are a number of issues still in the process, not least of which are quality staff, understanding procurement and its rules and procedures and we also have the issue on the private sector level where persons are taking on much more than they can do. So, all of these are adding to the challenges that we continue to observe in the PSIP. Today’s meeting heard those challenges again and we offered some solutions in some areas. Some of them are more medium term,”
He added that among the measures put in place by government is the amendment and passage of the Procurement [Amendment] Bill Number 2 of 2019. The legislation seeks to ensure that in the process of procurement, definitions are defined; there is a wider range of procurement methods listed; expansion of the way tender invitations are published; availability of budgets; mandatory registration of bidders; splitting of procurement; due diligence; description of the subject matter of procurement; inclusion of evaluation criteria; cancellation of procurement; forms of communications; debriefing; contract management; code of conduct; language of prequalification documents; debarment and suspension of suppliers and “green procurement” among others.
“I laid some amendments to the legislation couple weeks ago that will look at bidding, procurement planning, debarment and so all of that are part of the process. We are looking at the Department of Public Service and giving credence to the creation of some technical posts to make certain that this process is driven, Jordan was quoted as saying.
He noted that the government felt that it had done well in 2018 and hoped to build on that performance for 2019 and disclosed that would be another meeting in about a month’s time to review the progress made.
With regard to government’s PSIP expenditure the Minister stated, “Most of the spending as it relates to Government is done in critical areas and particularly in civil works and to be quite frank, a number of these outreaches have shown that our PSIPs are trending in the right direction. There were a lot of kudos for the roads, the schools, the water, the community centres and so on. We were able to outline the programme of continuation as we look to 2020 and beyond”.
President Granger has repeatedly said that the meetings with Permanent Secretaries and their respective Ministers provide a platform to examine what currently obtains in the government ministries and noted that the PSIP meetings help the Government to plan efficiently and prudently for the next budget year.
The President reminded those present that in order to achieve the ‘good life’, the government’s task is to improve the quality and quantity of goods and services, provide safer communities, quality education and healthcare to the nation’s citizens, the MoTP release added.
In July, 2017, Jordan had decried the slothful pace of the PSIP.
“As at end June, less than 30 percent of the ….PSIP was expended. What is the reason for this continued sloth in the implementation of the PSIP, at a time when it was touted as a boost to spending in the economy?” asked Jordan.
He was at the time addressing the Budget 2018 Preparation and Sensitisation Training Workshop. In his remarks to the Heads of Budget Agencies and other Senior Government officials, a copy of which was released by his ministry, Jordan highlighted the fact that the 2017 Budget had been delivered since the 26th November, 2016 and yet, there were budget agencies in June still figuring out specifications of items to be purchased.
“We have awarded only 53 percent of the PSIP and expended a mere 28 percent on maintenance of infrastructure within the recurrent budget. While we happily and deservedly bask in the glow of improved Grade Six examination results, we need to wake up to the reality that less than 50 percent of our Grade Six children passed mathematics this year. Drugs and medical supplies are still in short supply at GPHC and in all of our regions,” the minister lamented.
Winston Jordan
The Finance Minister reminded the participants that they are servants of the people charged with spending tax-payers money prudently and goals must be realistic. For ideas that reach the area of implementation, poor execution would compromise and depreciate the quality of the undertaking. He added, “Wastage and inefficiency are to be abhorred since they rob the people of better services, better infrastructure and, ultimately, a better quality of life.”
