In a stern warning to hundreds of bidders and contractors from across Guyana, Minister within the Finance Ministry, Bishop Juan Edghill stressed that there should be no room for “skulduggery” in the tender and procurement process.
He also warned them that the unsavoury practice of threatening officials concerning contracts is not something that is appreciated at the level of Government. It was explained that some contractors on being informed of their failure to acquire bids, threaten to go to the media and the Opposition political parties.
“No contractor, supplier or bidder worth his salt should be bullying any official for a job. You must not get a job because of fear, intimidation and ‘I will deal with you in the media or I will go to this person to you’. You must get a job, because you are qualified and technically competent to get the job done… once you have open competitive bidding, let the chips fall wherever they may,” the Minister highlighted.
He was at the time speaking at a major symposium organised by the Finance Ministry and the National Tender and Procurement Administration Board (NTPAB) at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, on Thursday.
The symposium was held under the theme, “Empowering Bidders; Ensuring Responsiveness, Advancing Accountability, Fairness and Transparency in Public Procurement”.
Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill addressing the crowd of bidders and contractors
Edghill established the need for a system whereby reports on works in progress and works completed by contractors will be made available to officials. This way, he pointed out, there will be no room for contractors who have failed to complete jobs or have several jobs pending.
Contractors who are not in default or have not performed satisfactorily will not be able to acquire contracts, since the information available will warrant immediate disqualification or blacklisting.
“We cannot fund failure”
“We cannot condone skulduggery; we cannot fund failure and we cannot cover up for contractors, bidders and suppliers. We want a fair and open process,” Edghill declared.
In recent months, despite the presence of the NTPAB, contractors have complained about an unfair bidding process, with some persons saying they were not awarded contracts although their bid price was the lowest.
However, Edghill cleared the air on the issue, explaining that the lowest bid does not automatically win the contract.
It was explained that contractors have to fulfil several prerequisites before they are awarded a contract. Those criteria include capacity and manpower, a complete bid with all relevant information, and the ability of the bidder to deliver.
Edghill warned Regional Executive Officers (REOs) that no “parking” of jobs should occur, pointing out that officials should take note of the capacity of bidders, and be more alert to ensure that no jobs are being parked or awaiting a particular contractor.
“We will not park any project waiting on a contractor… so anybody who believes that they have the God-given right to a particular job… that Government will have to park and wait until they finish a job to come on this job, I got news for you, it will not happen. And if it is happening, we will stop it… this issue of you having the lowest price must also be matched with the capacity and ability to deliver. You might have the lowest price, but you can’t get on the job till November, because you’re already saturated,” the junior Finance Minister noted.
He added: “When we read our budget and it’s debated and it’s passed, the implementation of that plan largely depends on the persons sitting in this room… somebody’s got to build the bridge, somebody’s got to supervise that work to ensure Government gets value for its money.”
Moreover, the Minister pointed out that evaluators must be able to withstand public scrutiny of their work. He maintained that this is part of the transparency process and should be treated with importance.
“Politics is never part of the evaluation criteria. Let us leave the politics out of the evaluation criteria and get on with national development,” Edghill said.
extracted from the Guyana Times