THE Government of Guyana has noted the report in yesterday’s Stabroek News which stated, inter alia, that Dr. Roger Luncheon said in court that “all contracts above $15 million have to pass through Cabinet…before reaching the (National Procurement and Tenders) Board (NPTAB)”. This report represents not only a misrepresentation of what was stated by Dr. Luncheon but also a misrepresentation of the national procurement process which is well and widely known.

Almost the entire country must by now be aware that tenders above a stipulated limit are submitted directly to the NPTAB. The tenders are received and opened in full public view at NPTAB.

The tenders are then evaluated by an evaluation committee appointed by the NPTAB. NPTAB then considers the evaluation report and makes the award. If the contract is above a certain amount, NPTAB makes a submission to Cabinet, through the Minister of Finance, on the proposed award and seeking Cabinet’s no objection to the award. Cabinet then considers the matter and either grants its no objection or returns the matter for further consideration by NPTAB. In practice, the latter has only occurred on extremely rare and isolated instances.

From this process, it is clear that NPTAB receives tenders before any other authority, and certainly before the Cabinet becomes involved in discharging its limited role in the matter. This process is well known to the media, given that members of the media routinely attend and observe tender openings at the NPTAB.