–reading riot act to procurement officers, taking strong disciplinary approach with agencies, Jagdeo says

PEOPLE’S Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has affirmed the government’s commitment to transparency, and the elimination of corrupt practices within the local public procurement process.
Dr. Jagdeo made the foregoing disclosure during his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Thursday, following reports of a $2.1 billion contract being awarded to Kares Engineering Inc. for the construction of a wharf for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
The reports at reference intimated that Kares’ bid was lower than 80 per cent of the engineer’s estimate for the project, and should have been deemed “unresponsive”.

However, a press statement issued by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) sought to explain that this criterion was discontinued years ago, and that Kares was the lowest evaluated and overall bidder.
“We remain open in ensuring that the process grows, in terms of transparency, and that we can weed out people who are engaged in corrupt practices. And we have done so on several occasions; we have seen the growth of the system,” the General Secretary said at his party’s Georgetown Headquarters.
According to Dr. Jagdeo, there were eight bidders through an open public tender for the project. Four of the bids received were significantly higher than the engineer’s estimate for the construction of the wharf.
NPTAB further related that the GDF advertised for the construction of a reinforced concrete wharf at its Coast Guard headquarters at Ramp Road, Ruimveldt, and bids were received, via public tendering, in November 2023. Subsequently, bids were evaluated by an independent evaluation committee.
Evaluators had recommended the lowest responsive bidder, and an award was made in December 2023. The contract award for the project was published in January 2024, and the Government of Guyana entered into a contract agreement in February 2024 with the bidder, who submitted the lowest evaluated bid, which is also the lowest overall bid.

In March, one of the bidders, citing the “any bidder whose bid is less than 80 per cent of the engineer’s estimate will be non-responsive” clause, submitted a request for a review.
However, NPTAB noted that this engineer’s estimate was never published or given to the bidders prior to the opening of bids.
Further, the criterion cited was discontinued years ago, and is not included in the numbered criteria in the approved Standard Bidding Document.
Dr. Jagdeo, on Thursday, stressed that the government has been working to address the irregularities and biases within the public procurement process.
“We now have to take a strong disciplinary approach with these agencies that do procurement out in the public domain that depart from the standardised process. The standardised process was created for a purpose, and the purpose was to ensure that we don’t have multiple solicitation for bids that are different in each of these agencies that can prejudice the process,” he said.

Dr. Jagdeo reiterated that the government has been fighting against breaches in the public procurement process; however, it must be noted that there are “tens of thousands” of projects ongoing across the country.
“There are thousands of contracts every day that are being done. If you go anywhere in this country, you will see schools being built, hospitals under construction, sea defences being rebuilt, roads being built everywhere, bridges being built. The whole country is being transformed infrastructure-wise,” he related.

The government, the General Secretary added, has managed to “fight against” and keep most of these contracts out of corrupt practices.
However, he related that the government has flagged concerns that were raised about personnel in public offices that are engaging in breaches.
“Every week we are making changes; you are going to hear more about some of these changes in the short-term. We have already been reading the riot act to many of the people and the procurement officers in the regions; that if you violate this particularly deliberately, you will have to face the consequences,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

Last month, he had said that the government intends to conduct ‘sting’ operations to clamp down on officers and other personnel who engage in procurement breaches.
The government, Dr. Jagdeo said, has undertaken a review of the procurement system at every level, and is examining the procurement procedures for compliance, and activities for compliance with the laws.
If persons are found to be in breach of the law, they would be held accountable, the General Secretary said.
The government, he also related, will be scrutinising delays in processing contract payments, and dishonest supervisory on projects.
Back in April, the government had clamped down on delinquent contractors for delayed works.
Back then, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had instructed all relevant ministries and agencies to issue letters for liquidated damages to contractors for delayed projects.