THE Government of Guyana has welcomed the finalisation of the report by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on the contract awarded for the Belle Vue Pump Station on the West Bank of Demerara.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh, during a live broadcast on Tuesday evening, said: “The completion of this report by the Public Procurement Commission provides ample evidence that the institutions that we have worked for so many years to establish are in fact, operating and functioning and are discharging their extremely important mandates.”

The government has said that the completion of the report is in keeping with the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

Dr Singh said: “It will be recalled that [the] entire architecture requiring open competitive public procurement was established during the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government when we, along with our partners in Parliament legislated a number of amendments to our Constitution; which were brought into the Constitution in 2001, which included provisions for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission.

“And that it was this very PPP/C Government that took to Parliament a very modern and comprehensive procurement bill that would then be enacted, that has now become known as the Procurement Act, which establishes the framework for the operationalisation of the National Procurement and Tender Administration, Ministerial and Regional Tender Boards, and the entire framework that now provides for competitive public procurement and architecture that did not exist prior to its enactment and establishment….”

In a press statement, the Ministry of Finance said citizens could recall that the PPP/C Government, under the leadership of President Irfaan Ali, since resuming office and with a view to building on the foundation laid during its previous tenure, restarted the agenda to strengthen the institutions that are critical to ensuring public accountability, transparency and good governance; these are essential prerequisites in good governance.

“In the particular case of the Belle Vue Pump Station contract, the government, in addition to the already transparent process through which projects are awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), acknowledges the fact that the report includes recommendations which are useful for consideration, going forward. At the same time, we wish to elaborate on the context within which these developments are occurring,” the ministry said.

In his broadcast, Dr Singh said: “And I wish to assure the Guyanese public that these recommendations will engage careful study by our government and by the respective agencies of our government and, where appropriate, will certainly inform future reforms and future actions to be taken, including corrective actions in a number of areas where for example, observations were made regarding consistency between bidding documents and instructions to bidders, etc….”

The government, he said, is also constantly mindful that it is implementing an accelerated and aggressive development agenda which involves a significant number of infrastructural works, and a significant revamping of government recruitment activity by extension, needless to say, displaces a tremendous demand on the contracting and construction industry.

“And we consider it a matter of policy priority to ensure that the prerequisites are put in place so that the construction and contracting industry is able to respond in the manner that will be needed not only in the immediate term, but into the medium term,” Dr Singh related.

He specifically referenced the volume of work being executed that exerts a tremendous demand on the existing/pre-existing/traditional contractors who have been operating in the industry for a number of years.
“We define our respective thresholds of qualification to ensure that [the] objective is met, that the pool of contractors is grown in order to meet this growing demand,” Dr Singh said.

He, however, clarified: “We are deeply mindful of ensuring that we contract companies that have the capacity to discharge the obligations that they will be required to discharge from the contracts that might be awarded.
“And they’re able to do so with due regard to compliance with the respective bills of quantities that are associated with respected projects, that they’re able to do so in a timely manner and that they are able to do so efficiently.”

The growth in the national budget from $300.7 billion in 2019 to a budget of $1.146 trillion this year, is evidence of this government’s transformational agenda and vision for Guyana, the Ministry of Finance had highlighted.
Within this, the government’s Public Sector Investment Programme, including investment in roads, bridges, schools and hospitals has grown by over 900 per cent over the same period to $666.2 billion.

“Not only has this expanded the capital expenditure to drive growth and development, but it has led to an increase in employment countrywide and necessitated an urgent need for the widening of the base of contractors available to execute projects. This would allow for every region to benefit, so that citizens all around the country would in turn, be able to experience the development taking place.

“It must be recalled as well that in December 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Article IV Report lauded government for its Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms. The report noted that ‘the government also strengthened the procurement framework as the Public Procurement Commission, had five new commissioners sworn in and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) designed a comprehensive training programme in procurement, and commenced the design of a management information system to improve its operational efficiency.

“In conclusion, the Government of Guyana once again welcomes the PPC’s completion of the report on this matter and wishes to remind [sic] that this process is testimony that the procurement reform structures put in place are working.

“The government reaffirms its commitment to ensuring good governance, accountability and transparency in this and all other matters in relation to the procurement, awarding and implementation of projects throughout the country, as it continues its accelerated development agenda,” the Finance Ministry said.