APNU/AFC compromise procurement laws for their cabal

Dear Editor,
Transparency, integrity, economy, openness, fairness, competition and accountability are some of the fundamental principles of public procurement. Unfortunately, the APNU/AFC coalition Government deliberately destroyed every single principle of procurement to facilitate corruption, thanks to the Ministry of Communities, which has successfully hijacked all the Regional Tender Boards where the PPP/C won the regional elections.

The REO Region Six alongside PNC activists hijacked the Regional Tender Board by disregarding the RDC and the procurement laws to choose persons in order to facilitate control corruption or legalised corruption. All the RDC’s since the enactment of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board Act of 2003, are choosing two members on the Regional Tender Boards, and at the same time, the REOs are chosen to be the chairperson of these RTBs, suddenly the laws are manipulated to facilitate the REOs to choose members when the REOs themselves are chosen to be members of the RTB. It is evident that since 2015, the APNU/AFC Government has compromised and prostituted the laws of Guyana to enrich themselves and cabal, and remain in power unconstitutionally. The portents are not good and would further deepen scepticism about the intentions of this Government in procurement and all other spheres of governance. Granger and Bulkan are using REOs, overseers and town clerks in all the regions to strangle the various elected Councils.

Given the ferocity of attacks on the PPP/C, most of which was not merited, everyone would have expected the APNU/AFC Administration would have meticulously and perniciously followed every provision and procedure pertaining to the procurement laws and best practices. The reality is that you can never ever trust this Granger Administration again because corruption, incompetence and manipulation of the laws is their trademark.

Regards,
Zamal Hussain