Four Members of Public Procurement Commission sworn in

The fifth member, Attorney Pauline Chase who will serve as Chairperson of the Commission will take her oath of office next week when she returns to the country.

Four Members of Public Procurement Commission sworn in

Following an absence of more than two years, a new Public Procurement Commission has been appointed. Four of the five members of the Commission took the oath of office today.

The fifth member, Attorney Pauline Chase who will serve as Chairperson of the Commission will take her oath of office next week when she returns to the country.

The Public Procurement Commission was appointed following the nominations and agreement by both sides of the National Assembly and the Public Accounts Committee.

The Government had come under increasing pressure from the Opposition over its sloth in appointing the Commission even as it doled out multi-billion dollar contracts.

The Public Procurement Commission is tasked with monitoring public procurement to ensure the principles of fairness, equity, value for money, and competition are upheld.

The Commission’s work will also see it ensuring that the procedures of public procurement are executed in accordance with the Laws of Guyana. The life of the last Commission expired in late 2019.

After administering the oath of office to the members today, President Irfaan Ali said it is important to have the Commission in place as his government continues to move forward with its development agenda.

“Important to that transformation are issues of public accountability, transparency, and ensuring that the institutional mechanism and systems that allow the public expenditure to occur are not only strong but that they are continually renewed in an effort to advance and enhance transparency and accountability”, President Ali said.

According to the President, the job of the Public Procurement Commission adds to the tier of institutions to ensure public accountability.

He told the new Commissioners that “your role and responsibility cannot be understated, and that is why skillset that is required and that the Constitution speaks to, in relation to the members of the Public Procurement Commission. I have all confidence that the combined experience, knowledge, and diverse expertise of the members of this Commission will add value to your work and will bring the necessary benefits to the country and to government systems as we work together in enhancing and building a stronger framework through which we will transform and develop our country.”

The Members of the Commission who were sworn in today were Joel Bhagwandin, Rajnarine Singh, Berkeley Wickham, and Diana Rajkumar.

Once the full Commission is in place from next week, it is expected to get down to work. Meanwhile, the final member of the Police Service Commission was also administered his oath of office today.

The Opposition has moved to the Courts over the appointment of the Police Service Commission.

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