-in sugar industry procurement process
THE CENTRAL Tender Committee of GUYSUCO started over one year ago an extensive review of the Corporation’s procurement practices with the aim of establishing innovative operating procedures that would lead to greater efficiency, transparency and reduced costs in all areas of the Corporation’s operations.
The process is being spearheaded by Mr. Keith Burrowes, member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Central Tender Committee. Mr. Burrowes disclosed that his motivation for being fully involved in the hammering out and production of a new Manual in this critical area of GUYSUCO’s operations had much to do with the desire of the Board of Directors and particularly Mr. Donald  Ramotar, who have always emphasised the need for increased transparency and greater efficiency in the Corporation.
The first phase of the review involved an analysis of the existing process, comparisons and adoptions from the national procurement policy and consultations with the key procurement departments. The second phase saw the bringing together of personnel from all the key departments involved in the procurement process and senior management in a day-long workshop at the International  Conference Centre.
At the workshop, presentations were made by the various departments and frank discussions held on how to improve the procurement process and remove   the challenges faced.
We are now on the third and final phase, which involves consultations at the estate level and consultations with the workers’ unions and training. Mr. Burrowes met with Senior Managers of GUYSUCO and Wales and Uitvlugt Sugar Estates on the West Demerara late last week in the third of a series of meetings over the past three weeks aimed at encouraging inputs for the new Procurement Manual scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. The other estates visited so far are Blairmont, Rose Hall, Albion, Wales, and Uitvlugt Estates. Visits are scheduled in the new week for the Berbice estates.
Speaking to a packed house during the interaction,  Mr. Burrowes stressed that procurement of goods and services represented a significant component of the overall  costs of the sugar estates  which meant that much more effort has to be spent on upgrading procedures in this area to get it as right  and as effective as it could possibly be. “I can see greater value added in us getting improvement in our procurement procedures,” he told the assembled managers and senior staffers, disclosing that some departments have  already been mandated to effect  10% savings coming from efficiency enhancement  on what they have budgeted for procurement. Greater effort will also be placed on ensuring that all members of the Central Tender Committee (HD office and all Estates) are fully aware of their role and are able to make informed decisions for the benefit of the Corporation. Mr. Burrowes stated that in the process of ongoing preparation of the proposed new Procurement Manual, consultations were held with all GUYSUCO Estates  with the exception of  Skeldon and at  each meeting a number of suggestions were  made to make the procurement system more transparent, efficient, and cost effective  and that these suggestions are being included in the manual.
Mr. Burrowes had also previously  met with representatives of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and  conducted  seminars and training sessions with them on the Procurement Manual and the proposed innovations and changes in the procurement process. The workers’ unions are represented by two members on the estate tender committees and the new process envisaged by Mr. Burrowes seeks to make their participation more meaningful through ongoing training and greater information sharing.
Mr. Burrowes said that corruption seemed to be the only word that some persons could use in describing and making reference to the procurement process, but in  most cases  when one gets  down to the facts many of the allegations cannot be validated. He stressed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic  government  has over the past  10 years implemented the most sweeping financial reforms in the Caribbean  even though there have been some problems in the implementation of these reforms. Mr. Burrowes said he was convinced that when these reforms are fully implemented, it would be discovered that the strident allegations about widespread corruption will amount to nothing more than  gross exaggerations.
He added that as Chairman of GUYSUCO’s Central Tender Committee, he was committed to the position that the process will be very transparent and could be scrutinized by anyone, remarking that, “And it would be obvious to all that if we are addressing the issue of GUYSUCO which is the largest Company in Guyana we are in fact significantly reducing opportunities for corruption.” Some of the recommended changes being made include:
* Statuary  ongoing training programmes;
* Information dissemination to all estates once it has a procurement aspect to it;
* Systemic changes to the  approval process;
* Mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement at the level of the estate tender committee;
* New reporting format to give routine information to enhance decision making;
* Cost-benefit analysis
A summary of the new Procurement Manual comprising three pages and entitled: “Procurement Made Simple” will be circulated to all stakeholders in the industry, including members of staff and staff of the unions representing sugar workers. The manual will also comprise standard forms for the procurement of services and goods so that presentations of tender are uniform and are easy to process for purposes of decision making. In the cases of tenders to supply items and materials, the application must include the current and past market prices of the items to be supplied.
Senior managers will have to sign as receiving their copies of the new Procurement Manual so that it is on record that they are fully aware of the improved standing orders for procurement. The new Procurement Manual will also include sanctions against members of the Tender Committee who make decisions that run contrary to the interests of the Corporation. There will be one final meeting at the International Conference Centre to ratify  changes to the manual.
Mr. Burrowes urged the managers to continue to find innovative ways of solving their supply and procurement problems, including the establishment of public/private partnerships with the entities with which they do business and on which they are heavily reliant.
The team will visit Skeldon Estate on Monday (21st ) on a similar mission of discussions and consultations on the new procurement document.