| The Constitutional Body that has been in limbo for almost a decade now due to the fact that the two main Political parties, the People’s National Congress Reform and the People’s Progressive Party failed to arrive at a consensus, may soon be a reality.This is according to General Secretary of the PPP, Donald Ramotar, who in an invited comment said that the party is closer to realising the final names to be submitted which will be done shortly.According to Ramotar, on two occasions the party submitted its nominees for the Public Procurement Commission but none of the nominees found favour with the main opposition party,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the PNCR.Not daunted, the PPP General Secretary said that the party is close to submitting a list adding that it is a tedious task given that the Public Procurement Act stipulates tedious requirements for members of the Procurement Commission.Under the Procurement Act, a member of the commission must satisfy criteria such a legal, and financial training among others.Ramotar is on record expressing his disappointment and is upset that the Public Procurement Commission is yet to be established and be fully functional.According to Ramotar, the motive behind that body and the Tender Board process was all meant to weed out corruption and get value for money as it relates to spending taxpayers’ money.While conceding that the government has an open policy toward tenders and contracts that are public in that anyone could access, there are cases where there is subversion of the process, “but this has to be rooted out.”He said that the intention of the Tender Board was to get value for money. “That was the whole intention but I must admit that there is a possibility that some of these things have been subverted.”As it relates to the Public Procurement Commission, Ramotar recalled that he was involved in the initial period when a decision was taken to set up the commission. “We were eager to have it function and took decisions as how to set it up.”He recalled that there was the proposal to both sides of the National Assembly to submit five names, but unfortunately, finding common ground has not been possible to date.Ramotar was adamant however that the “first breakdown of talks was not from us.”The usual differences of opinion between the government and the People’s National Congress Reform are what led to the delay in the resubmission of the administration’s nominees for the Public Procurement Commission.This is according to President Bharrat Jagdeo, who earlier this year told media operatives that some years ago, three nominees were submitted but there was a huge debate on the candidates and as such the process was put on pause.After all, the nominees are submitted,Air Max 98 Gundam 2018, the committee will use a grading method to select the most qualified for appointment to the commission and it will be constituted of five persons.The role of this commission includes the monitoring and reviewing of all public procurement systems. It also monitors the performance of procurement bodies. In such cases,2018 Nike Vapor Max Plus, the adherence to regulations in procuring services and the execution of works is examined.It also has responsibility over the procedures of ministerial, regional and national procurement entities as well as those of project execution units.The commission has the task of investigating complaints from contractors and public enterprises along with suppliers,Undefeated Air Max 97 For Sale, and cases of irregularities. It has the authority to propose remedial action in all instances.The Constitution stipulates that the commission should be independent,Air Max 90 Black And White For Sale, impartial and should discharge its functions fairly.In January to April 2007, the Ethnic Relations Commission conducted research into the public procurement activity in Guyana over the four-month period. A summary of the findings from that report,Cheap Air Jordan Shoes, states that the commission be established in order that its functions can be removed from the ambit of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.It also suggested that the mode of creation and manner of oversight of the Tender Board is qualitatively different from those constitutionally provided for the Public ProcurementCommission. The provisions in the Procurement Act regarding a declaration of interest, the report stated, appear to omit requirement of a written statement signed by the declarant.The ERC proposed that this omission be addressed with a view to enhancing the objective of the Act. |
