Outgoing President of the Builders and Construction Association of Dominica (BCAD), Anthony LeBlanc is of the opinion that the government is refusing to implement the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
He spoke at the BCAD Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Prevo Cinemall on Thursday.
According to him, Dominica was poised from 21 January 2015, with the coming into force of the Public Procurement and Contract Administration Act Number 11 of 2012 to ensure that the country has the machinery in place to enable capacity building stimulated by a framework for good, transparent and opened complexity practices.
“Unfortunately, our current administration, after our Parliamentarians passed the Public Procurement and Contract Administration Act in 2012, refused as members of Cabinet and Ministers to implement the provisions of the legislation,” LeBlanc said.
He described the passing of the Act and subsequent refusal to implement it as “bipolar.”
“I suppose one may say the bipolar syndrome raises its head when one considers that the larger valued government procurements are what the administration holds most secret. Those are the ones that are undertaken by secret award events; those that the government will hire six highly paid legal persons to defend its breach of the Act its ministers passed in Parliament,” he remarked.
LeBlanc mentioned further that these government projects have enough value, volume and diversity in order to allow training for a workforce with the required competency for resilience capacity building.
“These are the projects, if procured in a transparent and open process using the normal process intended under the act, will allow and facilitate the private sector a sustained method for growth in their plans and other fixed assets, investment in technology and hire brighter human resource,” he explained.
He pointed out that after both Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria, the government has engaged in a secret direct purchase process with foreign firms without any opportunity for allowing the transparent participation of local private sector firms.
LeBlanc went on to say that Post- Hurricane Maria, the Public Procurement and Contract Administration Machinery, which was said to be too expensive to implement, has been replaced by the CREAD, at a rather comparative or greater operational cost, but with little benefit to building capacity for resilience.
A government press release dated May 25th, 2016 said the Public Procurement and Contract Administration Act No. 11 of 2012 is on course to be repealed and replaced.
Chief Procurement Officer within the Central Procurement Unit in the Ministry of Finance Oscar Seaman confirmed that information in a panel discussion about the status of the country’s Procurement Act on the Government Information Service (GIS).
Seaman said the plan is for the new Act to be in effect before the end of 2016.
The decision was taken following a review of the Act by Public Procurement Consultant Patrice F. Pratt in 2015, he said.
I love how everything isn’t directed straight to “Skerrit”. Mr. Le Blanc did not mention the pm by name. He said the government and cabinet, which includes labour Andy the opposition. He’s also speaking on behalf of all private sectors being the president of the board.
The stadium, state house, west coast highway, the new Roseau bridge, the Chinese bridge and so many more projects have just been handed to Chinese Andy other foreign governments, not giving any local sectors a chance. So many of us Dominicans have relatives working for those engineering companies. He’s speaking the truth. Bash Mr. Le Blanc all you want, but it may the bread-winner of your family that will have to be let go next because the private sectors don’t have jobs.
By repealing the act they’ll get away of the court case of issuing nsg the Roseau bridge contract and be free to continue this corrupted behavior. Why is it so hard to allow for the growth of local capacity? I’m hoping people will learn from this action.
Yet YOU Leblanc took on a contract at Bellevue Chopin which was no bid and you benefitted from whilst others wanted to take part.
Hypocrite!!!
Untrue but ok… since my company bidded on that project too..
Leblanc always has an issue with skerrit. Why didn’t u send in ur part to be put in the budget. U are always critizing ur own veille case man.
Some of them think they are the only one to prosper in life, but what they don’t realize that god gives every a gift. Tony thinks being he is from Vcase the PM should give him all contracts.
Do Dominica a favor and upgrade ur mindset. It’s as if once they from the same village they should collude to do wrong. That is one of the biggest problems in small countries.
I surmise that it is very much more difficult to obtain kick backs to beef up the election campaign war chest from local ethical patriotic contractors than from foreign hand picked contractors….How can we ever get value for money on there projects? Who is looking out for us the citizen? Where is the transparency and accountability? Corrupturn is a disease which needs urgent and serious attention. Keep with the pressure Mr. Leblanc. You are a true patriot.
Well said, Mr. Grill, your comments are the unvarnished truth. Every Dominican should contemplate on your words. No bidding, handpicked foreign contractors for government multi-million dollar projects, is where most of the corruption takes place. These corrupt deals are shrouded in deep, dark secrecy. Vote the DLP out of office and open a probe into all the non-bidding public contracts. Many members of this governing regime will spend the rest of their lives caged behind prison bars. Only a severely corrupt government detests sunlight and transparency and does business in opaqueness and complete darkness. The Skerrit -led administration is a ‘Black-hole’ government. There ‘s absolutely no light with this government’s operations. They seemingly have spent their 18 consecutive years in government perfecting their corrupt practices while ignoring the people’s desperate plight. Utterly shameful!
Let’s vote those MISLEADERS out.
Where The Wicked Rule The People Mourn!
This DLP is a Wicked and Evil Party!
One often wonders how these Ministers of Government get so rich, so quickly, from their public service salary. Public procurement is the answer. Ask any knowledgeable political analyst, you will be told the awarding of government contracts of mega projects, with no bidding and shrouded in secrecy, corruption abounds. Think about the numerous capital projects that have been given to foreign contractors without any bidding. Corruption causes a government to raise taxes and deny public servants a well deserved pay increase. It creates a shortage of revenue where the government is unable to carry out regular maintenance to public properties. I repeat a line in a previous post. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Expect nothing from Skerrit, because he can’t do anything, he is as useless as they come. That whole thing of being PM, is too much for Skerrit, it’s destroying him, that’s why he says all dem magee
Hatred and jealous towards others is a sin. Wow!
Leblanc any GOVT that is refusing to implement Public Procurement Act is known to be very corrupt.
As this allows for sticky finger manipulation of public contracts outside the process.
But I know I don’t need to tell you that……… This DLP regime needs to GO!!!!!!
Sound speech @Real that cannot be refuted! It is CORRUPTION that has caused Dominica to be a run-down, decrepit place when it should be a feast for the eyes.