President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Kiran Maharaj, has raised concerns over the Government’s insertion of at least two exemptions under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, 2015, which essentially evaded Parliamentary oversight.
Maharaj, in a GML report, said the TTCIC has strongly advocated for the efficient and effective implementation of the act. However, she said the Government’s decision to make exemptions in this manner was not what they signed up for.
“While we understand the need for exemptions in certain cases, these should be instances where it is in the public’s best interest. Section 7 now states that the act may not apply to services provided to public bodies and state-controlled enterprises as the minister by Order may determine. There are no parameters for what the minister may or may not decide to exempt,” she said.
In a virtual media conference on Tuesday, the Finance Minister, Colm Imbert said 1,086 suppliers and 32,357 lines of business were pending prequalification. At the time, he had said that 117 were rejected.
However, Maharaj, who was speaking in defence of her members, said the Procurement Depository under the Office of the Procurement Regulator (OPR) is cumbersome for most users.
“The reality is that for most, the OPR Depository is not user-friendly and the registration process can be tedious. In our interaction with members, they are in full support of the legislation to curtail procurement inefficiencies and wastage of limited public funds,” she said.
She added that the TTCIC worked with the former procurement regulator to host a sensitisation session with its members to assist with onboarding companies to the platform. She suggested that this be reimplemented.