Having vowed to move swiftly to establish the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) in the first hundred days once elected to office, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, led by President David Granger is now being questioned over its seeming slothfulness to appoint the members of the PPC, despite the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament unanimously agreeing on the nominee and the National Assembly subsequently approving those nominees.
Chairman of the PAC, Irfaan Ali, an opposition legislator in the National Assembly on Monday questioned President David Granger’s delay in swearing-in the members so they can commence working.
Ali told Guyana Times International that the committee would have fulfilled its responsibility as it relates to selection and agreement on the nominees and it is now President Granger who needs to officially appoint the commissioners. Ali questioned the President’s motive behind the delayed swearing-in.
“This issue is now solely at the feet of the President and it is very strange that the members of the Public Procurement Commission to date have not been sworn in. This is something that the government said they were keen on, so I can’t understand what is causing the delay in the swearing-in of the members, these members have all been agreed on unanimously by the Parliament and it is solely at the feet of the president,” Ali stated as he issued a strong call for the President to fulfil his obligation with the appointment of the Public Procurement Commissioners.
“We are calling on the President to move in an assiduous manner to ensure that the members of the Public Procurement Commission are sworn in and the commission commences its works,” the opposition legislator urged.
Administrative mechanism
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo was quoted by the Government-run Guyana Chronicle as saying that PPC will soon be established as “the process is now awaiting some administrative procedures, including finalising the remuneration packages.”
But Ali said this is not preventing the swearing-in of the commissioners. He went on to explain that the PAC will soon move to put in place the administrative support mechanism for the Commission.
“The PAC after the Parliament comes out of recess, would be moving to have this issue as a priority on its agenda in setting out the administrative mechanism to support the work of the Public Procurement Commission, so there is nothing that is stopping the President from swearing-in the members of the Public Procurement Commission,” Ali reasoned.
Nominees approved
At the end of July 2016, The Ali-led PAC agreed on the names of the nominees for the PPC and that list was subsequently approved by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on August 8.
The nominees are Attorney Emily Dodson, Carol Corbin, University of Guyana lecturer, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Educator Ivor English and former Labour Minister, Nanda Gopaul.
The list of the nominees was sent to President Granger, who under provisions of the Constitution could only appoint members of the PPC after their nomination has been approved in the House, and by a two-thirds majority.
The PPC has been a contributing factor that predated the holding of the General and Regional Elections in May 2015, as the then opposition had insisted that Cabinet should cease the practice of giving ‘no objection’ to contracts for state projects and services, in favour of appeals by aggrieved contractors to the PPC.
