The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said government had saved about $2.6m since launching a new digital procurement platform in November.

He said 1,490 vendors have registered on the new Go Bonfire platform, and 299 opportunities have been posted there.

“These numbers are expected to grow as more agencies move their procurement processes online,” he said during his contribution to a debate before the Senate passed the Public Procurement Bill and the Public Finance Management Bill.

Mr Halkitis reiterated his view that the Public Procurement Act the Minnis administration passed was “strange” and “unworkable”.

“It is a necessity to pass these replacement legislations for the orderly development of this society,” he said. “There is no ulterior motive. The simple fact is that because of sins of omission or commission, we have been burdened with a compendium of legislation on critical functions of the government which is simply unworkable.”

“The 2021 Public Procurement Act is a strange Act in the context of The Bahamas as it ignores the structural imbalance in the economy, an imbalance which the government is obliged to correct.

Mr Halkitis said the new law creates provisions for preferential treatment of small and worker-owned, women-owned, Family Island-owned, and youth-owned businesses.

The Organization for Responsible Governance has criticised elements of the bill.

It noted that while the timeline for publishing awarded contracts remains 60 days, terminology changes in the latest bill may allow some awarded contracts to remain unpublished.

The government has yet to comply with reporting requirements.

“It is unclear what has prevented the government from adhering to the reporting of awarded contracts thus far, and it is essential to begin immediate adherence to this mandated requirement in the interest of the awareness and trust of the public and private sectors,” ORG said in a statement in October.

The organisation identified numerous opportunities for strengthening the bill.

“These include changes to the appointment, composition, and financing of the Procurement Board for greater independence and representation,” ORG said.

“In addition, greater accountability and consistency can result through the reduction of the categories of procurement contracts listed in the bill. For example, audit, actuarial, accounting, legal, and financial consultancies that are excluded from the law.

“Another significant opportunity to ensure the law is favorable to small businesses is the restoration of a dedicated Procurement Review Tribunal as a more accessible mechanism to resolve concerns about awarded procurement contracts.

Unlike the previous law, the soon-to-be law does not include a Procurement Review Tribunal.