VIDEO: Morning Edition interview on “Letter to President” on Office of Procurement Regulation

This is the interview with Fazeer Mohammed on the Morning Edition programme on TV6 where he and Reggie Dumas discuss their open letter to President Carmona on the appointment of Board of the Office of Procurement Regulation.( See letter below.) Video courtesy TV6

Programme Date: 18 December 2017
Programme Length: 00:03:39 and 00:22:30

Our Open Letter to President Carmona is here for your attention –

The large-scale waste and theft of Public Money remains one of the most serious concerns for our country and the full implementation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act is therefore a matter of very high priority. That implementation should be done in a manner which fosters confidence and sets the table for a new era of proper dealings in the conduct of our nation’s public affairs.

We are encouraged by the 2nd November 2017 Press Releases from the Office of the President and the Ministry of Finance, both stating that the appointment of the Board for the Office of Procurement Regulation is anticipated to be made by the end of this month, December 2017.

As a matter of best practice in these most crucial appointments, the public should be apprised of the details of the selection process. This is simply not a matter we can afford to have go awry, since there is such a dire need for transactions using our increasingly limited Public Money to be properly supervised.

As a parallel example, we would offer for adoption the 39th recommendation of the Uff Report:

“The reviewing of tenders and the making of decisions upon the award of contracts should be undertaken in as transparent a manner as possible, including demonstrating clear compliance with procurement rules, so as to allay suspicion of improper actions or potential corrupt influences.”

The point is that contracts, particularly large-scale, shou ld not be awarded without elementary transparency so that the public can be assured of straight dealings. The appointment of the Procurement Regulator will be one of the most critical contract awards in the history of our Republic, albeit an employment contract.

We are therefore requesting, in the public interest, that the following details be published before the appointments are made:

• the selection process being used;
• the identity of the firm or personnel implementing that process;
• the identity of the shortlisted applicants.

We anticipate an early and positive reply in the collective interest of instilling and maintaining a high degree of public confidence in the processes involved in this critical matter.

We await your response.

Reginald Dumas

Victor Hart

Afra Raymond