by Joshua Seemungal
The Joint Consultative Council (JCC) has said it is extremely concerned about the procurement regulator's failure to issue the annual report as required under Section 24 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, which was operationalised in April 2023.
In a media statement yesterday, the JCC said this independent report was due for submission to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate and the Minister of Finance in December 2023.
It explained that the new procurement laws require the following to be included in the report: A figure representing the total value of contracts as awarded by public bodies and another figure representing the cost of the total value of procurement contract variances for 2023; the number of unfulfilled contracts awarded by public bodies in respect of procurement; A summary of transactions in respect of each public body specifying in respect of public procurement— (i) the number of procurement contracts awarded; (ii) the number of procurement contracts varied; (iii) the quantum of those variances; (iv) the number of unfulfilled procurement contracts and the quantum of the cost incurred; (v) with respect to the procurement for a project, a brief description, the awardee, the value, the scope of works and the expected deliverables of the project; and (vi) lessons learnt as a consequence of the management of procurement contracts.
It also said there needs to be a summary of transactions in respect of each public body concerning the disposal of public property; details of changes implemented to ensure current best practices for procurement and disposal of public property; the names of public bodies that have failed to comply with this Act; an assessment of the overall performance of the procurement system; a summary of unresolved issues that are to be dealt with; and any recommendations requiring action on the part of a procuring entity.
The JCC said this report is therefore supposed to supply critical data and information to Parliament and to the public.
"Only then can any assessment of the efficacy of the new legislation be determined and adjustments can be made. This is even more dire at this time, when the 2024 mid-year budget review presented by the Finance Minister now projects a $9B deficit."
The JCC added that procurement reform is supposed to eventually realise savings in the vicinity of $4B to $5B annually.
"The JCC has previously indicated to the regulator that about 80% of the expenditure in public procurement is spent by only 10% of the approximately 400 public entities so that they (The OPR) can concentrate their resources on the fewer large spenders in order to have the largest positive impact soonest. A very dangerous precedent is being set by the OPR, in not issuing the Annual Report."
It said this does not instil confidence in the public and sends a bad message to procuring entities that it is business as usual.
"We therefore urge the OPR (The Regulator) to issue the Annual Report in compliance with Section 24 of the Procurement Act immediately."