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Oct 18, 2016 News
After noting the criticisms made by Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran, Finance Minister Winston Jordan came out yesterday in defence of the competence and professionalism of the persons recently appointed to the Bid Protest Committee.
Goolsarran had said that the Bid Protest Committee is by no means any ordinary body.
According to the Public Procurement Act, the body is one that is supposed to review protests from dissatisfied suppliers and contractors.
The decision of the Bid Protest Committee is also said to be considered final and immediately binding upon the procuring entity. This means that there is no recourse to the Courts if a supplier or contractor is dissatisfied with the decision of the Committee.
It is for this reason that the Chartered Accountant had said that the members of the Committee should be highly skilled and experienced in public procurement matters.
The three-member committee was established in July last and comprises Joann Bond as the Chairman and former GTT Manager Archibald Clifton and Insurance Broker Ewart Adams as the other two members.
Goolsarran said that the members of the Bid Protest Committee are to be appointed from among professionals who are particularly competent in the field of procurement.
In this regard he stated, “It is not clear whether the members of the recently appointed Committee have the necessary backgrounds to discharge their responsibilities as adjudicators and final arbiters in a procurement dispute.”
With the aforementioned in mind, Jordan said that instead of Goolsarran denigrating the members of the Committee, he should give them encouragement.
Jordan then equated the Bid Protest Committee with that of a jury. He said that when members of a jury are being put together, they are not appointed based on their qualifications.
“Invariably, most of the times, jurors don’t have the slightest clue about the law, but they are guided by the judge. Most of the times, they arrive at the correct decision,” the Finance Minister said.
He added, “The point is, Goolsarran is talking about the members’ qualifications, but has anyone seen the first report by the committee? It is one of the most scholarly reports I have seen coming out of this system.”
The report Jordan refers to, speaks to a ruling by the Bid Protest Committee on the appeal by Mr Morris Archer and Ivor Allen of Cevons Waste Management Inc. against the decision to award a contract to Puran Brothers Disposal Inc. for the management of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill.
Jordan said that the report zeroes in and details what is the case, and came to a decision that was rational, reasonable and fair.
The Finance Minister said that he understands the complainant is satisfied with the ruling and has withdrawn his claim.
“These people who are not ‘so-called qualified’ were able to produce a fine report. I say give the people a chance, because prior to that, we had no committee and now we have one. Instead of giving them encouragement, all we seem to be doing is nitpicking,” the Finance Minister stated.
The economist said that the Committee members should be judged on their performance.
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