Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has signalled to government officials ‘wishing to be contractors’ that they must leave their positions.
He warned that this conflict of interest will be scrutinised closely.
The Vice President was at the time meeting with the heads and accounting officers of public sector agencies at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Tuesday.
The meeting was focused on enforcing strict compliance with procurement rules, with the Vice President making it clear that any departure from these regulations would not be tolerated.
Jagdeo acknowledged the challenges agencies face in managing the country’s “unprecedented” Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). While commending public servants for successfully implementing the majority of projects, despite resource constraints, he expressed concern over issues in procurement practices.
During the meeting, the Vice President expressed concern about the increasing use of restrictive tendering by some ministries, often without valid justification.
While restrictive tendering may be necessary for complex projects, Jagdeo cautioned that it should not be used to favor specific contractors and called on the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to closely scrutinise any requests for such tenders.
Referring to some reports of corruption, Jagdeo condemned instances where bribes are being solicited to expedite payments for completed work, urging agency heads to remain vigilant.
He emphasised that such practices ultimately damage the government’s reputation, as those paying bribes often blame the administration for these corrupt activities. He urged accounting officers to be more vigilant, moving forward.
The Vice President pointed out too that there are a few cases where several members from one family may have companies registered with them, and they all bid for contracts. Acknowledging that this may be difficult to identify, he urged accounting officers to be wary of this and ensure vigilance.
Jagdeo further noted that some contracts include unnecessary items, such as vehicles and computers, which inflate costs by tens of millions. He warned that such additions are not allowed and disclosed that where discovered these have been corrected. Moving forward, he urged that accounting officers to ensure that contracts focus solely on essential project deliverables and not be used for the comfort of their own agencies.
The Vice President condemned the inflation of bills and warned that this practice would not be tolerated. He also voiced concerns about conflicts of interest in some Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and other government agencies, where officials have private companies and are bidding within the agencies where they work. He made it clear that those wishing to be contractors must leave their government positions, as this conflict of interest will be scrutinised closely.
According to him, agency heads must engage in better contract administration and stress the importance of penalties for late or shoddy work, including the imposition of liquidated damages. He made it clear that the government will hold agency heads responsible for these issues. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]
