The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on Wednesday presented its 2022-2023 Annual Report to Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir. This is reportedly the first Annual Report of the PPC to ever be laid before the National Assembly as required by Article 212CC of the constitution.
Pauline Chase, Chairman of the Public Procurement Commission who was accompanied by Deputy Chairman of the commission, Berkley Wickham, stated, “We are delighted to present this Report as we are mandated to do by Article 212CC of the constitution. The Report was actually completed since the end of last year but due to formatting and printing difficulties, its delivery was delayed. We are dedicated to presenting our next Annual Report before the end of this year, covering our second year of operation, which concludes next week on July 8th.”
The current PPC took office on July 8th, 2022, following a three-year hiatus without a fully constituted commission. “Upon assuming office, we encountered the challenge of re-establishing the commission and recruiting staff due to the expiration of previous contracts. However, we swiftly overcame these obstacles and commenced our mandated duties,” Chase explained.
The PPC operates under thirteen (13) constitutional functions outlined in Article 212AA (1) with key responsibilities including monitoring, investigations, training, and legislative review. Chase emphasized, “While investigations often garner the most attention, it is important to recognize our comprehensive role. Despite initial setbacks, we are pleased to report that we were nonetheless able to have diligently executed work across all of our main functional categories during our first year, expanding on the work of the past commission and embarking on new areas.”
Building on the foundation laid by the previous commission, the current PPC has made significant strides in fulfilling its mandate. “We are proud of our accomplishments over the past year and are committed to further enhancing our operations in our remaining period” Chase concluded. Pursuant to Article 212Y, Commissioners are appointed for a period of three (3) years and are not eligible for consecutive reappointment.
The Speaker, accompanied by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Issacs; Deputy Clerk, Herminia Gilgeous, along with other staff members, expressed gratitude to the Chairman and the commission for delivering the report to the National Assembly. He highlighted the significance of the legislative framework that ensures institutions like the PPC can perform essential oversight functions and independently establish policies.
The Speaker in delivering remarks, commented on the process for the appointment of members of the commission. “While there may have been a hiatus between the appointment and the end of the last commission and this one, the process is a slow one because it starts in the National Assembly. It has to follow meticulous details in the Constitution with respect to appointing members of this commission,” Nadir explained.
Emphasising the need for consensus, Nadir noted that achieving broad agreement among the nation’s representatives is a time-consuming but necessary endeavour. “It is painstakingly long, but in the end, the objective is a consensus commission that has the support of all the parties in the Assembly. So while people may say it’s long and there is a need for reform – that may be so. But if you want to get consensus, then consensus is always built around the least common denominator. That’s where you get consensus. And so it takes a long time.”
The report is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly on July 8th, 2024. After the Annual Report is tabled, an Executive Summary thereof will be published in accordance with Article 212CC (4) of the constitution.
