THE Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region 10, will be writing the Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, seeking permission to grant local suppliers advance payments when contracted to supply items to the RDC.

At last Thursday’s statutory meeting, Regional Chairman Renis Morian urged the Regional Tender Board to write the finance secretary, since it was brought to the council’s attention that local suppliers are often slothful in meeting the timelines for delivering items.

The regional procurer was at the time relating to the council, purchasing of furniture for schools, but there was a hold-up because the supplier did not deliver. He related that it was now a requirement from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) that such items be procured from local suppliers. In the past, he said, suppliers from Georgetown supplied their items in a timely manner. “They say they don’t have money,” he responded to councillors, when asked the reasons local suppliers gave for their slothfulness.

While the government is pushing for 20 per cent local content for contracts, the councillors believe that the local contractors need to be empowered for this to become effective. “We have to start empowering our own people, people with skills, that is the only way they will develop,” Councillor Charles Sampson said.

Councillor Vladimir Glasgow opined that local contractors and suppliers must be empowered to put them in that position where they can deliver quality and quantity, in a timely manner. He said he is satisfied that the NPTAB has taken the step to empower local residents, but more must be put in place than to just state they must be given 20 per cent of the contracts.

In this regard, Morian asserted, “Some of them won’t have that kind of financing, the same people we want to help, so I am saying tender board this is the recommendation, to advance people who make these purchases to empower them.” This is the normal procedure done with big contractors and therefore, those representing local content must not be treated anyway different.

Only recently, Morian was encouraging youths in the region to register their small businesses, which is the first step in pre-qualification for small contracts up for tender.

During his most recent visit to Linden, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, while meeting with the Linden Chamber of Commerce, reiterated government’s policy of 20 per cent of its procurement going to small entrepreneurs. He also encouraged young people in Linden to get their small businesses registered and to forge ties with the Small Business Bureau (SBB), which facilitates such registration.