The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said government is hoping to amend the Public Procurement Act in the upcoming budget period with a view of making it “user friendly” to ensure better compliance and greater transparency of the country’s procurement process.

The law, which was passed under the Minnis administration last year, requires the government to publish details of approved contracts and procurement activities within 60 days of the award of the contract.

However, since assuming office, the Davis administration has yet to comply with the reporting requirements of the law, often facing criticism from the opposition over the issue.

“We’re addressing that,” Mr Halkitis said before going to a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

He reiterated that a lack of standard operating procedures relating to the legislation has affected the government’s ability to comply with the law.

“What has happened is, and I’ll repeat it, it was a major piece of legislation that was put in place without all the foundational pieces in terms of the manual or training, the staffing of the office,” he added.

“If you would recall the law was passed and then it was a long period and then it was brought into effect in September of 2021. We are totally interested in total transparency and being able to provide the public with that sort of information but the government needs to be able to operate.”

The minister continued: “You have to build capacity when you’re making those sort of changes. You just don’t pass a law today and it starts work. It has to be training throughout the ministries and you would know that even the state-owned enterprises of the public corporations – they are covered. The ministries there need to be training straight down the line.

“There need to be manuals and standard operating procedures. You know those things we’re not done and so what we’re doing, as has been said, we’re revisiting the legislation to make sure we can tweak it to make it user friendly for the government, but at the same time, maintaining that transparency and availability of information and so that will come.”

“And you know, we’re striving to have it done during this budget period. Going forward, there will be no question of compliance or non compliance but it’s just a matter of you have this major piece of legislation, transformative piece of legislation put in and none of the foundational pieces … so we just want to assure the public that we’re committed to transparency and we’re making the changes to keep that intact but also government has to be able to operate.”

The passage of the Public Procurement Act was partly a response to long-term criticisms of the country’s procurement processes.

In its 2020 investment climate statement on The Bahamas, the US State Department said this country lacks modern procurement legislation and that companies have complained its tender process for public contracts is inconsistent.

“US firms have identified corruption as an obstacle to FDI (foreign direct investment) and have reported perceived corruption in government procurement and in the FDI approvals process,” the report said.