Following numerous complaints about malpractices connected to state contracts, government has begun reviewing the procurement system and has warned that sting operations will be conducted countrywide and anyone found guilty will face consequences for their actions.
“I see a lot has been written about corruption and all of that. The government has undertaken a review at every level [of] the procurement system,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told a press conference.
“Let me put on notice all of those people who are responsible for procurement in public corporations, statutory bodies, the ministries, regions, central ministries, everywhere, all the way up to the national tender board, that we’re examining the procurement procedures for compliance and also activities for compliance with the laws… and let me make it clear that if we find that those officers are skirting the provisions of the procurement law, then there shall be consequences for them,” he added.
Jagdeo, whose portfolio also covers the finance sector, did not highlight any issues relating to the evaluation of bids, which has seen bitter complaints over the years from contractors who believe that the process favours some.
The Vice President said that he has received a number of complaints with persons going to the party’s headquarters to lament their plight. “Too often we hear, I sit at Freedom House and people come, and I hear people complain that in some parts of this country, remote parts of this country, somebody is doing something [nefarious]. People win a bid and after the bid has been awarded, they try to change specs on the bid,” Jagdeo disclosed.
Further, he added, “Another issue is payment. People who have done their work and submitted the bills, some of the accounting clerks in the ministries, they keep the processing of the payment for days on their desks… people have to run 10 to 15 times to get money [for work] they already did. Sometimes they have bank loans… run there to these little czars. It could be one clerk holding up a payment and then sometimes they want money to expedite a payment. Let me put on notice those people too.”
President Irfaan Ali, according to Jagdeo, has already spoken to his ministers to ensure that unlawful practices do not happen in their respective sectors. “We are going to take this matter seriously. Whether you are an accounting clerk holding up payment, or the procurement officer of the agency, then there will be consequences for everyone. Sometimes government needs to do this sort of review,” he asserted.
He noted that supervisory consultants will not be spared from the planned review as there have also been complaints that some of those consultants sign off for works not completed and the contractors are paid.
“Also, let me say for people who go out on public contracts… and they are paid by the government to supervise the work. They supervise and bring in the bills… if they falsify that then you [government] end up paying for what you have not received. A lot of that has happened,” Jagdeo said.
And if persons caught believe that being aligned to a political party will ensure leniency, Jagdeo said that they have those perceptions wrong.
“So I am forewarning them, I am telling them. If you have been engaged in these practices and you get caught, don’t come and later complain that, oh, you have kids or something or that you belong to a party or a hold a party card or something like that. You get caught, you face the consequences,” he stressed.
While Jagdeo did not address it, most of the recent concerns about the integrity of the procurement system revolve around the award of huge contracts by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to unqualified contractors. This has been enabled by evaluation committees of the NPTAB which have not complied with the guidelines assigned to tenders. This has seen several pump station contracts awarded to persons who do not qualify. Analysts say the entire procurement system can be compromised unless vetted, professional evaluation committees are in place.
There have also been concerns that the Public Procurement Commission has avoided taking action to address major problems in the system.
