THIS letter serves to inform the public that although Open Tendering is the most desirable form of procurement involving Government contracts, there are certain conditions which render single-sourcing the only or most appropriate method of procurement of goods, services and construction. These conditions, which are observed by the relevant authorities, are set out in Section 28 of the Procurement Act 2003, under which, procuring entities may engage in single-source procurement when:
a) The goods or construction are available only from a particular supplier or contractor, or a particular supplier or contractor has exclusive rights with respect to the goods or construction, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists;

b) The services, by reason of their highly complex or specialised nature, are available from only one source;

c) Owing to a catastrophic event, there is an urgent need for the goods, services or construction, making it impractical to use other methods of procurement, because of the time involved in using those methods;

d) The procuring entity, having procured goods, services, equipment or technology from a supplier or contractor, determines that additional supplies must be procured from that supplier or contractor for reasons of standardization, or because of the need for compatibility  with existing goods, services equipment or technology, taking into account  the effectiveness of the original procurement in meeting the need of the procuring entity, the limited size of the proposed procurement in relation to the original procurement, the reasonableness of the price and the unsuitability of alternatives to the goods in question; or

e) The procuring entity applies Section 3(2), to procurement involving national defence or national security concerns, and determines, as a result of national security concerns, that single-source procurement is the most appropriate method of procurement.

I trust that the information provided herein, has clarified any misconceptions members of the public may have about the use of the single-source method of procurement by the Government of Guyana, in the procurement of goods, services and construction.