Chaguanas West MP, Dinesh Rambally, said the Government’s announcement that the procurement legislation will take effect from April 26th is “nothing short of a con job by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley”.
Speaking during the United National Congress’ weekly media briefing yesterday, Rambally claimed that the legislation is nothing more than a “PNM friends, family and financiers procurement act.”
Rambally is also accusing the Government of failing to proclaim the Public Procurement Act as it was initially drafted.
He said: “When you consider the history of the Government’s treatment of procurement legislation and its failure, to date, to fully operationalise same, the crime, economic hardship and social chaos in our society are not bugs in the Government’s programme, they are features.”
Rambally said the Government has also introduced a series of amendments that “watered down” the original procurement act.
“There was a removal of the procurement of legal, debt financing, accounting, auditing and medical services. Now, with the announcement of the proclamation, there is a delay in the appointment of either a new regulator or the reappointment of the former regulator. This position has been vacant since the beginning of the year, the Government knew this,” Rambally said.
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