The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday blasted the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) for spending taxpayers’ money but not executing its constitutionally enshrined functions and addressing complaints.
The PPC was fully constituted on July 8, 2022 with attorney Pauline Chase as its chair and critics have since accused it of not doing anything in relation to blatant cases of contract irregularities.
Yesterday, AFC executive and former Minister of Public Works David Patterson tore into the PPC.
Reading from a statement, Patterson said that several complaints had been dispatched to the PPC requesting that it conduct investigations into contracts awarded by the Government, some of which have engaged the public as well as the Auditor General but to date no official acknowledgement of receipt has been received.
Patterson said that complaints were raised on the award of the following:
– Eight contracts awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise, by the Regional Democratic Council, Region #9, totalling $106.8M. This contractor had been debarred by the PPC in November 2019 until December 2030. These awards were also flagged in the Auditor General’s report of 2021.
– A contract awarded to V. Dalip Enterprise for the four-lane Highway from Eccles to Great Diamond, by the Central Housing and Planning Authority, totalling $890M, this Contractor as mentioned before was previously debarred by the PPC.
– A contract awarded to St8ment Investment Inc. for the construction of the Bamia/Amelia’s Ward Primary School by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Patterson said that public records showed that this company was established only eight months prior to the award, bringing into question if the company would have met the technical criteria as set out in NPTAB’s Standard Bidding Documents
Patterson noted that the PPC hosted a public day on April 18, 2023 and the opportunity was taken to attend and get an update. Engagements were held with several staff members, including the Chief Executive Officer and a Commissioner, unfortunately, while acknowledging some awareness of the complaints, Patterson said that he was informed that only the Chairperson would be able to provide an update.
Patterson said that he had been unofficially informed that the Commission, after being dissatisfied with internal legal advice, is in the process of seeking the following legal advice from external sources:
– To determine if the Commission can execute any of its functions listed in the Constitution, which is the supreme law of this country.
– To determine if the Commission can carry out any investigation into any breaches which occurred before they were sworn in in July 2022.
– To determine, if only Suppliers or Contractors directly associated with a specific Contract can request investigation not members of the public.
“This is a bizarre and unorthodox position since a Member of Parliament previously brought a complaint regarding the Demerara Habour Bridge feasibility study, which the PPC investigated”, Patterson said.
He noted that the PPC, after receiving a budget of $262M, is currently enjoying spending the taxpayer’s money, but it is only now trying to find out if it can function as it is constitutionally mandated to do, after being almost one year in office.
“In other words, the PPC is now of the opinion, despite internal legal advice, it is a powerless commission, without any legal framework to execute its constitutional mandate. The AFC rejects this position and calls upon the PPC to commence executing its constitutionally enshrined functions”, the statement said.
