APNU+AFC opted to commit procurement breaches

- no deficiencies or weaknesses in the law exist, AG says

THE significant breaches of procurement laws under the APNU+AFC government raises serious concerns about the failure to monitor the performance of contracts which were awarded during their time in office.

This is according to At- torney-General Anil Nandlall, S.C., who upbraided the former government on Tuesday during his weekly Facebook programme, Issues in the News.

The AG used a part of his programme to address the disclosure made on Monday during a Public Accounts Committee

(PAC) meeting that the Ministry of Public Health and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) did not procure COVID-19 supplies in an efficient manner.

The Auditor General in his 2021 procurement, storage and distribution of COVID-19 supplies report, concluded that there was no monitoring of the performance of contracts, which resulted in millions of dollars of supplies being delivered close to a month after the delivery dates had expired. Additionally, the entities prepared Purchase Orders after receiving sup- plies.

It had been recommended that the MoH and CDC engage the Minister of Legal Affairs and other stakeholders to have the Procurement Act 2003 amended to include emergency-procurement policies and procedures. Members of the PAC had also called for those amendments to be made.

However, on Tuesday, Nandlall said that the “breaches that were identified by the Auditor General really had nothing to do with deficiencies in the law.”

“It had more to do with the government of the day, failing to comply with the existing regime of statutory processes and also the government’s failure or inability or omission to enforce contracts that were flagrantly breached during the procurement period.

TURN TO PAGE 6