Tag Archives: Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act

Last Sunday, I traced the perils of having the state enterprises unrestrained by diligent and timely oversight by the constitutionally established Public Account [Enterprises] Committee (the PA[E]C) and I referred to that committee being handicapped, due to the late submission of annual reports and other financial information to it. The …

“[…] We are not serious/Very few conscious/So I cannot agree with mih own chorus!…” from the first verse of Dis Place nice by Brother Valentino. “[…] Your silence will not protect you…” Audre Lorde, on the false beliefs and toxic consequences earned from calculated or cowardly silences. “Last call to …

“[…] The PS suggested that the powers-that-be were hell-bent on adopting this most unsuitable legislation to please a very well-meaning, vocal, but uninformed interest group. “[…] He lamented the apparent absence of a thorough, comprehensive and detailed analysis by the relevant business organisations/interests, especially in the small and micro sub-sector. It …

“[…] The theft of billions of dollars could have been prevented if we had a fully functional [Office of Procurement Legislation] according to acceptable legislation. We cannot underestimate the lost opportunity to have invested those stolen funds to take care of our social needs, such as health, education, utilities and infrastructure, and more. …

Harvard Business Review (April 2019) warned that perfectionism is a double-edged sword that can either motivate you to deliver high-quality work or cause you much anxiety and slow you down.  Are we witnessing this play out with the many iterations of the procurement legislation saga, or is it something else? …

Politicians and their satellites do not always practise abstinence from corruption.  If persons populating our institutions abstain, without credible cause, from the limited opportunities to act as checks and balances, we can expect no change in the rate at which the corrupt will abscond unjustly enriched. Last week, amidst public …

“[…] The PNM administration seems allergic to institutions which are independent within the executive and run by unelected persons.  “It is clearly one of the reasons for the pre-emptive assault on the Office of the Procurement Regulator rendering it a eunuch, so that the hands of elected ministers will not …

The media  and others were plainly wrong to inform the population that the government needed only one ‘yes’ vote from one of the nine Independent senators, in order for the government to succeed in its proposal in the Senate to amend the procurement legislation.  The government was seeking a simple …

“[…] The Joint Chambers, JCC and TTTI do not support the introduction of Clause 5 which seeks to make amendment to section 7 as this would act in contravention to the intent of the entire Act, thereby limiting its purpose…” The following statement on the Public Procurement and Disposal of …

“[…] The proposal to amend the act by making the procurement by ‘public bodies or state-controlled enterprises of legal services; financial services; accounting and audit services; medical services; or such other services as the minister may, by order, determine […] subject to negative resolution of Parliament’ exempt from the requirements …

What do Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s rebuke of the civil servants and the closure of Chaguanas’ MovieTowne have in common? Are these connected to the car tax exemptions furore? Why is there chatter about the foreign exchange rate and fear of liquidity and solvency for businesses and our government …

 “[…] Contracts, particularly large-scale ones, should not be awarded without elementary transparency so that the public can be assured of straight dealings.  The appointment of the Procurement Regulator, albeit an employment contract, will be one of the most critical contract awards in the history of our Republic.” The following letter, signed by Afra Raymond, Reginald Dumas and …