The Ministry of Finance National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has come under new management, and Minister of Public Works, with responsibility for Finance, Bishop Juan Edghill has charged the Board to ensure contracts are awarded in a timely manner.
So far, Mr. Tarachand Balgobin has been appointed temporary Chairman of the Board, while Mr. Bernard Lord, Mr. Desmond Mohamed, Mr. Omar Narine, Mr. Steve Ninvalle, Mr. Mark Conway and Ms. Gloria Beharry will serve as Board Members.
Minister Edghill congratulated the team, who he was keen to note, has hundreds of years of experience when put together. Nonetheless, the Minister laid out his expectations for the new board.
He explained, “Your job, primarily in the first instance, would be to uphold the high principles of ensuring transparency, accountability, competitive bidding, good governance, value for money and ensuring that you create an architecture that is free from corruption.”
In addition, Minister Edghill told the team that he anticipates the timely awarding of contracts to boost the implementation of projects’ percentage.
On that note, the Minister of Public Works tasked the new board to review the evaluators attached to NPTAB, with the view of ensuring that the work is done promptly.
He explained that time delays may be occurring at the evaluating level and must not be allowed to continue. Furthermore, Minister Edghill pointed out that these evaluators must be reminded that they work for the Government of Guyana and not for contractors, hence a full review of staff will be conducted to stamp out “skullduggery”.
The new temporary Chairman, Mr. Balgobin and Board Members expressed thanks to Minister Edghill for demonstrating confidence in them and vowed to fulfill their duties in the best of their abilities. [Extracted and Modified from Public Works Ministry]
