Gov’t Senator Calls For Reform Of Procurement Law

Government Senator, Sherene Golding Campbell, is calling for significant reform of the country’s procurement laws and processes, one that is less onerous with severe penalties for violators.

“If we’re serious about transforming Jamaica’s productivity, then we must transform the way in which the Jamaican state purchases goods and services. Currently, the system focuses on whether the bidder to a government tender or the procuring entity issuing that tender has complied with the procedures of the legislation. It is far less focused on whether the process produces value,” Senator Golding Campbell said.

The Senator was making her contribution as she opened the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on October 2.

While designed to ensure transparency and efficiency, Senator Golding Campbell said the system is overly rigid, leading to delays caused by the need to cancel and restart procurement processes, adding significant costs to both government and the businesses that seek to engage the process.

“There is very little room for curing non-compliance or, if you will, incomplete compliance. In particular, MSMEs are at a real disadvantage because they, like larger companies, are required to comply with bid security requirements, tying up significant sums of money and impeding cash flow for extended time when procurement processes are cancelled and restarted. You see, the money isn’t returned, it just sits there and it’s restarted and they bid again,” she stated.

She said bidders often confront gaps in the application of procurement rules, noting that when the procuring entity fails to meet the statutory timelines or the timelines set out in the bidding documents, there is little recourse for bidders.

“What some procurement entities do in practice is that they write to the bidders, and they ask them for an extension in the bid validity period. Of course, that is farcical because the only recourse a bidder has is to agree, because if they don’t agree to the extension of time, they’re bowing out of the procurement process.

“If they don’t like that, then their option is to seek judicial review of the procuring entity’s conduct. If they agree, they’re subjected to the inevitable delay. It’s not hard to see that neither the country nor the businesses seeking to engage the government’s procurement process can win in these kinds of situations. Perhaps we need to change a mindset by making the process less onerous but with severe penalties for violators,” she added.

The government Senator reasoned that a system that encourages compliance is critical to the country’s procurement framework.

“You know, when I arrived at Miami International Airport, my bags have never been searched. And if every bag was searched at Miami International Airport, the place would be chaos,” Senator Golding Campbell said.

“But I am mindful that if I have contraband in my bag, whether goods or cash, that a random search would lead to very severe penalties and that possibility encourages compliance. So maybe that’s the approach we need to take in terms of our procurement framework,” she further stated.

She reasoned that if the country’s productivity is to improve to foster the kind of transformation that is needed to further build Jamaica, there must be significant reform of the procurement laws.

“Jamaica has come too far to be satisfied with stability alone. We have built a foundation, but now we must build on it. The next chapter will require discipline, courage, innovation and, above all, the willingness to do the work to make our government more responsive, our businesses more productive, our people more skilled, our institutions more effective, and our economy more competitive,” she said.