This blog, which highlights issues in the implementation of the procurement act of Trinidad and Tobago, has been developed to highlight my YouTube playlist that deals with these issues. I have done this play list, after years of studying the public procurement reform process, the Procurement bill of 2014, the Procurement act of 2015, it amendments and regulations and the duties, manuals/guidelines of the Office of procurement regulation (OPR) and their requirements.
There are many unsettled issues which are yet to be resolved. Please let me agree with the 2023 amendment which was put forth by and supported by the government and which is very much in keeping with assisting small businesses to access government contracts in a timely manner.
I started the playlist with video one, the need for the reform. I felt this was the foundation needed to understand the procurement bill and later the procurement act and work of the Office of procurement regulation. I urge you to start watching the videos from video one.
Video two suggests the the scope of work of the office of procurement regulation (OPR) is too large and could adversely affect its duty of ensuring that the leakage of millions of dollars from our large procurement ceases. I thinks its focus should be on ensuring the proper performance of our high value high risk procurements that require millions of dollars.
Video three discusses the procurement cycle proposed by the OPR which requires over two months for an average procurement. This procurement cycle starts in video three but finishes in video four which also discusses emergency procurements.
Over three videos five, six and seven i discuss the requirements for ministries, civil society and persons who spend public money for them to ensure compliance with the procurement act and requirements of the office of procurement regulation.
Video eight looks at the local industry development object of the act and video nine which has not as yet been published will examine the role of local government in the implementation of the procurement act. Click the button below for our full playlist
Video nine- Role local government/local municipal corporations in the implementation of the procurement act of T&T
This video discusses the requirement for civil society and persons who spend public money to comply with the Procurement Act and the requirements of the OPR. It suggests that there are a lot of systems, policies, procedures that have to be put in place by these organizations/persons and there is the need for them to get assistance in becoming compliant. It recognizes that the OPR’s Special Guidelines for NGO’s has indicated that the Named procurement officer, shall nominate a senior procurement officer, who is the contact person in the Public Body for all NGO’s that may be seeking guidance concerning their obligations under the Act. The video indicates however, that the public body may have many such persons reporting to it and that the municipal corporations that have change agents and work at the local level may be better able to help these bodies and persons to put in the systems, policies and procedures etc., to enable them to become compliant