The Tribune

* Just 31% of VAT registrants sign on to portal

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government yesterday said it is seeking a "more robust" private sector response after just 30.6 percent of VAT registrants signed up to an electronic procurement initiative that is set to "ramp up".

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance's acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business that while 1,629 companies represented "a healthy number" there was a need to rapidly increase this as the Government looks to increasingly shift bidding for public sector contracts online.

The data shows some 3,700 VAT registrants have yet to join the Ministry of Finance’s eProcurement and Supplier Registry System (ePSR), which was launched last year, as potential suppliers of government goods and services.

The portal is designed to enable registrants to bid on government tenders and contracts digitally, thus improving the transparency and efficiency of such processes. Some 300 tenders have already been posted on it.

"That's a healthy number but we believe it could be more robust," Mr Johnson said of the response to-date. "I think that, with anything new, you will see a slow ramp up. But the goal, notwithstanding the slow ramp up, is we are taking the steps within government to ensure that all the agencies are up to speed and are moving over, and are starting to put jobs and contracts on the portal.

"We expect over the next few months to see a significant ramp up in registration and utilisation of the platform. Between now and the end of the year - over the next few months - we will see a significant ramp up.

"We've been doing a lot of work internally with the government agencies and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), making them aware of the platform and providing training, so that we follow through on the ambition to move all the jobs, solicitations for jobs and responses through the portal."

The Public Procurement Bill and accompanying regulations, which legally underpin the portal and reforms to the Government's acquisition of goods and services, have yet to be debated/passed and tabled in the House of Assembly, respectively. The Bill was tabled during the 2020-2021 Budget debate.

"The ambition with the whole procurement process is to modernise it and bring it into line with global standards," Mr Johnson added, "and be more prescriptive throughout the process to allow recourse for bidders who feel aggrieved.

"Once it's done we feel we will have a procurement regime that reflects global standards, which is the ambition of the Government. People will have a very transparent and open view into the available jobs and opportunities. The platform allows full transparency; persons will be able to see which contracts were awarded and to whom. It brings the whole transparency element into it.

"There's a mechanism in the Bill for bidders who feel aggrieved that their tender was not considered, or that the process did not follow the Act. They have documented recourse in the law for what they can do." A certain percentage of government contracts, Mr Johnson will also be set aside for small businesses to enable them to build and grow, rather than let larger ones "monopolise" the work.

Government tenders, bidding processes and contract awards have frequently been caught up in claims from certain bidders that the process was unfair, lacked transparency or resulted in numerous other issues and questionable actions.

Another issue that has frequently reared its head is whether Bahamian taxpayers have always obtained value for money - something that will become extremely important with the $9bn-plus national debt and deficits faced amid COVID-19.

"The ambition of all procurement is to try and maximise value in the process," Mr Johnson added. "The more open and transparent we are in this space, the more it builds value. Value is not the lowest offer; it is the best offer.

"The digital portal creates a one-stop shop for persons to find out where the jobs are and bid on them. It's a critical part of the ecosystem." Companies that sign up to the portal will receive notices of new contract opportunities; receive acceptance of their quotes and bids digitally; and have submissions vetted electronically.

“The ePSR system is web-based and user-friendly, allowing for a more efficient and contactless procurement process for users, which is especially important given the current social climate,” said Daniel Ferguson, procurement officer in the Ministry of Finance.

“I would encourage every business to register as a supplier on the ePSR portal to access a new potential revenue stream by exploring and actively bidding on those opportunities that align with the goods and services they offer.”