Air Max 270 Womens Australia xxew0vl0

fd9je6mn

The National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTA) symposium got underway Monday, with Finance Minister Winston Jordan announcing considerations for several measures in order to make the procurement system more fair and transparent; a system he noted was inherited in a broken state.While the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has not as yet been set up, Jordan announced that Government was considering establishing a Procurement Protest Committee, for contractors to air their concerns, in addition to launching e-procurement (online procurement from NPTA’s website).He also spoke of changes to the legislation clearing the way for a contractor to win contracts for works in his home village, versus other contractors who are not from the said village.The symposium,Wholesale Shoes China, which was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, under the theme “strengthening and modernizing the procurement process to bring about positive change”, was well attended, inclusive of contractors, engineers, regional councilors and small business representatives.Jordan admitted that the establishment of the PPC, once a 100-day goal, had proven elusive to the Government. He observed that had it been established, many of the problems affecting the system could have been addressed. He nevertheless recommitted to setting up the Commission.Finance Minister Winston Jordan during his addressThe PPC is the legislative oversight body of public tendering. Appointments to the Commission are considered by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). However, the Commission has been stalled for months due to the opposition party’s absence in Parliament. At present, the PAC has its complement of members, with Opposition parliamentarian Irfaan Ali as Chairman.Jordan observed that with the establishment of the PPC, cabinet’s involvement in the process would be phased out. He also pointed to collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as aiding in the procurement process.Speaking on the potential establishment of the Procurement Protest Committee, Jordan noted that under the previous administration, contractors were afraid to air their grievances about the procurement process. He also observed that the Procurement Protest Committee is mentioned in the Procurement Act in Section 17; 02.This committee, he stated, is mandated to be composed of three professionals. One member is appointed by the Minister of Finance, one by an association representing contractors, and one by the Attorney General.“This attitude (of fear) has been reversed and contractors seem more inclined to air their grievances regularly, and to voice their disagreement.  Contractors are free to come forward with their complaints. The public believes that there are credible allegations of corruption in public procurement. Such a perception breeds suspicion and distrust, and it has to be fixed,” Jordan stressed to the gathering.He also stated that there was a lot of “loose talk” about a slowing down economy, and questioned the motive. He stated that there is the hope from certain quarters that the economy will sink and thus the Government would be discredited.Meanwhile, Chairman of the NPTA, Berkley Wickham, admitted that the process is flawed, and has been for many years. He also pointed out several shortcomings he encountered from when he was appointed in August.“It has become commonplace to see letters to the (newspapers) editors, about ills in the procurement process.” Wickham said. “Some of these are the lack of transparency, corruption, favoritism and more. I want to categorically state that those ills have no place in the modern procurement process.”Wickham admitted that with each succeeding year, Guyana has moved further away from adhering to the procedures in the Procurement Act. However, he expressed optimism that the country has come out of the era of flagrant breaches of the procurement process.LOOPHOLES IN THE SYSTEMChief Executive Officer (CEO) of RK’s Security Service, Roshan Khan, who attended the symposium, noted that much of the Minister’s submissions had a modernistic outlook and thus vision. He noted that while the cabinet’s outlook could be good, it is up to individuals involved in the procurement process to follow through.“I too have suffered a lot because of manipulation, tricks and interventions because of power brokers. What he (Minister of Finance) has laid out I’m all for it, and I hope the people who they will appoint will not have backdoor (transactions).”He noted several instances where loopholes sometimes occur in the system. He pointed to companies who hide behind purported “mass labour” obligations. He stated that these companies would just pay for a small portion of their workforce and then apply for National Insurance Scheme (NIS) compliance certificates (a prerequisite during the bidding process).“The NIS compliance persons might not be corrupted, but might be misled by companies who tendered below costs and might have corrupted officials (from other branches) working with them to get compliances.”Khan decried cases whereby bidders who bid below costs are automatically awarded contracts, but then use several unsavory techniques to recoup their money, including theft of Government property and their own workers’ NIS deductions, as well as shoddy work.“Do they only cater for the lowest tender?” Khan queried. “Because if so, manipulators are going to tender below cost, or money launder.”OTHER CONCERNSAmong the prevailing concerns among many contractors were the delays and inefficiency in receiving payments. Many put forward the view that while the symposium was good in its current form, regulations still have to be enforced.Others called for there to be set regulations separating small, medium and large scale bidders. This, one contributor said, is to ensure that large contractors with greater resources cannot tender for small projects at the expense of the small man.One contributor, a councilor from Region eight, also raised concerns about the loopholes which contractors use to produce shoddy work.The lone female contributor declared that contracts signed by the executing company are supposed to have clauses such as minimum payment periods. She referenced foreign procurement customs, whereby if the minimum payment periods are breached and extended, interest rates are applied.