The Ministry of Finance on Friday denied a claim by former Minister of Finance Winston Jordan that a conflict of interest existed as a result of the Head of its Project Cycle Management Division (PCMD), Tarachand Balgobin chairing the national procurement board.
In a statement, the ministry said that the PCMD is responsible for exercising monitoring oversight of the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and to report on the PSIP’s performance to government officials and ultimately Cabinet. The statement said that this was the exact function of the PCMD when Jordan served as Minister and much longer before.
The Ministry said that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), on the other hand, is responsible for making awards for contracts, the value of which is above $15 million. The process involves the appointment of three-person Independent evaluation committees, whose recommendations are considered by the NPTAB and upon the acceptance of those recommendations, submit the award for Cabinet’s noting.
“These are two mutually exclusive functions, independent of each other. Mr. Jordan must have been sleepwalking through his time as Minister if he cannot see and understand the clear distinction of functions of the two offices. Neither office is responsible for the engineering design of projects, including the preparation of bills of quantities and the pricing of those bills, nor do they tender for works, nor exercise supervision of those works. It therefore begs the question as to wherein lies the conflict of interest claimed by Mr. Jordan? NPTAB makes the award and the PCMD exercises monitoring oversight to ensure that projects are implemented based on time and cost and in accordance with the terms of the contract. The PCMD does not implement the projects”, the statement added.
Jordan was reported in Friday’s Kaieteur News as making the claim of a conflict of interest in Balgobin’s two roles.
The statement on Friday from the Finance Ministry also denied a claim by Jordan that a letter dated September 24th 2020 from Balgobin to Heads of Budget Agencies (HoBAs) had done away with the need for HoBAs to seek clearance from the NPTAB on their tender documents. The Ministry said that to the contrary, the letter from Balgobin reaffirmed that the government had instituted Standard Bidding Documents.
“As long as the procuring entities utilize, expressly, that standard bidding document, there is no need for the entity to send those documents to NPTAB for clearance. What then, would be the purpose of NPTAB `clearing’ its own standard bidding document? However, should the procuring entity require any amendment(s) to that standard bidding document, it is required to secure the express written approval of the NPTAB. `An advisory system is, however, available for Heads of Budget Agencies (HoBAs) that require help in large, specialized or complex procurement’. Mr. Jordan has selectively forgotten to quote that clause in the said letter, no doubt out of malicious intent, and to smear hard working public officers – or could it be just plain wickedness and an abominable pre-disposition to spew deceit?”
Jordan had made this claim in a November 25th letter to Stabroek News.
The ministry also charged that there had been conflict of interest in the Ministry while Jordan was Finance Minister between 2015 and 2020.
“It may be interesting however to inform the public of a clear conflict of interest situation that existed under Mr. Jordan’s sojourn as Minister: Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers functioned as both Chairmen of their respective Tender Boards and chairmen of their evaluation committees. That was the situation when Mr Jordan was Minister. He saw no conflict of interest then and persisted with that incestuous relationship throughout his term as Minister. If he could not see conflict of interest in that situation, how is it he sees conflict of interest in two functions that are clearly independent and separate, but complementary.
The ministry statement said that Jordan must be reminded that it is the current NPTAB that changed the situation and implemented the procedure where the functions were separated and in so doing the `critical checks and balance’ were established which allow for fair and equitable treatment, promote integrity, transparency and public confidence”.
The ministry also said that it is the current Board of the NPTAB that instituted – for the first time ever in the history of Guyana – real-time virtual opening of tenders, where every bidder who wishes to, can sit in their office or at home and witness the physical opening of tenders, hear the announcement of the opening of bids and make enquiries (via the chat box) during the opening of tenders, where the record of the opening of tenders are posted online within 24 hours, where the award of tenders are posted online after the issuing of Cabinet’s noting of the award and where tender notices of public procurement are announced on the NPTAB website.
The Ministry said that Jordan has also falsely stated in the November 25th missive that “each HoBA can now develop their own set of evaluation criteria for projects under their control … which not only creates confusion but lays the basis for corruption”. The ministry said that statement shows that Jordan is obviously stuck in the past and is recollecting the situation that existed under his watch. This assertion is nothing further from the truth, it added.
