Elizabeth Gonzales
OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark is threatening that the Opposition will refuse to work with Government if the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment) Act, 2020 is not repealed. He has accused the Government of “weaponising” the legislation.
At a news conference on Sunday, Mark said the amendments have left the treasury in a vulnerable position. He is now asking the government to strongly consider repealing the bill and then reinstate all the provisions in Section 7 of the parent act of 2015.
If his advice is ignored, he said the Opposition plans to “expose the government” and “isolate them,” refusing to co-operate in the Parliament.
The bill, which was passed by Government senators plus one independent senator last December, excludes government to government deals from the parent legislation – the Public Procurement and Disposal of Property Act. The Act was established to oversee public procurement, and the use and disposal of public property and to ensure accountability, transparency, integrity and value for money.
The recent amendments to the Act state there is an exception to public bodies or State-controlled enterprises when handling “financial services; accounting and auditing services; medical services; or such other services as the Minister may, by Order, determine.”Mark believes the amendment to the bill has allowed the government to legalise “banditry, thievery and corruption in our country. We want no part of those people. We want transparency, we want accountability, we want honesty and we want value for money. That’s what we want and what we demand.
“…They were able to remove from oversight of the independent procurement regulator the following services: financial services, all legal services…So that is to be determined by the Minister of Finance and the cabinet. All audit and accounting services also to be determined by the Minister of Finance. All medical services to be determined by the Minister of Finance (Colm Imbert).
He said, “An average of $85 billion per year is spent on goods, services, and other goods by close to 200 government state agencies, state enterprises and statutory authorities ministries. So we are talking about not a simple $35,000, we are not talking about $25 million.
“We are talking about TT$25 billion being spent annually by the PNM without any oversight or independent mechanism to supervise that spending. In 2021, in TT we have to believe the word of the prime minister when he tells us and tells the people and that is well.”
He added the government “must repeal the shameless decision they took using a simple majority” to pass amend the bill. Attempts to reach Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi for comment were unsuccessful.
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