Edghill says Govt not serious about fighting corruption

– cites lagging debarment apparatus, Integrity Commission

While Guyana has a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) and a Bid Protest Committee, effective measures for debarring contractors are still lacking.

If the Government were serious about fighting corruption, it would have brought legislation to make this a reality, says Opposition Member of Parliament and former junior Finance Minister, Juan Edghill.

He said that since the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, then the responsible minister ought to bring this legislation.

“If this Government is serious about corruption, let the Minister of Finance, who has responsibility for the National Procurement and Tender Administration (Board) bring legislation to this House that addresses the issue of debarment of contractors,” Edghill said.

Edghill also opined that gazetting the names of contracting companies and individuals who have been blacklisted will serve as a mechanism against corruption. He said the measure should extend to companies who “use their finances to influence the outcome and evaluation processes in the (awarding) of contracts.”

At last year’s end-of-year press conference, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had announced that setting up of a Debarment Committee was imminent. He had stated that the committee would be established to debar companies and individuals who were not compliant with the Procurement Act.

The PPC was established last year October. Among its functions, as set out by the Procurement Act, are to “monitor and review the functioning of all procurement systems to ensure that they are in accordance with law and such policy guidelines as may be determined by the National Assembly.”

It is also tasked with promoting “awareness of the rules, procedures and special requirements of the procurement process among suppliers, contractors  and public bodies, and safeguard the national interest in public procurement matters, having due regard to any international obligations.”

The Act also stipulates that “it will, as well, monitor the performance of procurement bodies with respect to adherence to regulations and efficiency in procuring goods and services and execution of works; approve of procedures for public procurement; disseminate rules and procedures for public procurement, and recommend modifications thereto to the public procurement entities.”

On the other hand, the Bid Protest Committee has been in place since June 2016. It hears the valid concerns and complaints of bidders who are dissatisfied with the system and circumstances under which a contract was awarded.

In one high profile case, the committee ruled against the Ministry of Education in favour of local juice company Tropical Orchard Products Company (Topco). The company won its appeal to the Committee over the Government’s decision to award its supply contract to another company – one from Suriname

Edghill also touched on the Integrity Commission, which has been without a Chairman since 2006. Back in 2016, President David Granger had promised that a functioning Integrity Commission would be in place.

In August of last year, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo was also quoted in sections of the media as stating that Government was considering amending the Integrity Commission to give it investigative and prosecutorial powers.

Edghill, however, has stated that nothing has changed regarding the commission. “We have a new Government, since May 2015. And as a member of this Parliament, I’m yet to receive a package from the Integrity Commission that says, ‘MP, this is your form, fill it up and get it to such and such an office’. Even if you go online and download the form, you don’t even know where (to submit it after completion).”

While in opposition, the APNU/AFC coalition had promised to implement a functioning Integrity Commission. It had acknowledged the importance of having the commission in place to oversee parliamentarians and ensure they make effective declarations of their assets.

In fact, the APNU/AFC Administration had long been pushing for transparency, and had even accused members of the PPP/C regime of stashing their wealth abroad.

The Opposition had proposed a motion to have ministers’ tax records and statements made available to the Integrity Commission and released to the public in 2016. But the original motion never saw the light of day, as the Government side had been against public declarations.