FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson.
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
FINANCIAL secretary Simon Wilson said the government would finally begin publishing contract awards when the reporting capacity of its contract procurement system is improved.
The Public Procurement Act mandates the government disclose the name and address of winning contract bidders and the award amount within 60 days of the contract award, among other things.
The government has yet to comply with this provision. Last year the government launched the Go Bonfire Platform procurement portal.
“We’re working on that right now,” Mr Wilson told reporters yesterday.
“So, you know, the previous system we had did not keep good records. It’s a very old system. So, what we’re doing is we’re backfilling that information on the new Bonfire system to publish contracts and so forth.
“So, to be clear, all government contracts are public knowledge. Alright, so … we don’t have a black budget. So, if the government signs a contract, obviously the government wants you to know because this is the public’s money, alright, but it’s the reporting format that’s a challenge. So that’s what the issue is.”
The Public Procurement Bill 2022, which repeals and replaces the Public Procurement Act 2021, was passed in the House of Assembly last month.
Critics have repeatedly criticised the government for lacking transparency over procurement processes and awards.
In its 2022 Investment Climate Statement report on The Bahamas, the US Bureau of Economic and Affairs highlighted the problem.
“The government passed a Public Procurement Act and launched an e-procurement and suppliers registry system in 2021. While the registry system is in place, the Public Procurement Act has yet to be fully implemented. Companies complain that the tender process for public contracts is inconsistent, and allege it is difficult to obtain information on the status of bids,” the US agency said.
More like this story
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- ‘LAW IS IGNORED OVER CONTRACTS’: Contractor chief says government failing to publish as required
- Govt yet to appoint chief procurement officer
- Gov't 'on target' for 60-day contract unveiling by March
- ‘Hundreds of millions’ in tax arrears remain
Comments
stillwaters 1 year, 7 months ago
It's how dumb he looks and sounds that gets me.
themessenger 1 year, 7 months ago
Yeah, and The Freedom of Information Act is coming soon too----Yes????
rosiepi 1 year, 7 months ago
That bill is never landing.
BONEFISH 1 year, 7 months ago
I want to see a listings of all contracts awarded since the September 2017 election. I also want a listing off all contracts given under the Minnis administration. Just to compare and prove something to me. Politics in the Bahamas is just like in Jamaica. A jamaican prime minister said that politics there is the right for the scarce benefits of the state.
ThisIsOurs 1 year, 7 months ago
Usually when you move to new systems, the current work gets scanned/input in as part of the new process, the historical work needs the remediation effort (speaking specifically of work maintained on hard copies). Its unclear if he's saying no info on any contracts is available or just the old contracts pre 2022. They should at minimum be able to automatically spit out a report of all contracts awarded since the system was implemented with a single click of a button, otherwise why spend thousands (hundreds of thousands?) on a crappy system with no reporting capability?
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