On January 30, the first day of the 2024 Budget Considerations of Estimates and Expenditure commenced at the Authur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
Among the discussions and justifications of the funds allotted to the various agencies, committees, and commissions, the sums stated for the Public Procurement Committee (PPC) were queried.
In the presence of the Chairman and Staff of the PPC, David Patterson, Shadow Minister of Public Works and AFC Member of Parliament questioned the sums stated for the Commission’s current expenditure.
In relation to the Commission’s allotment of $270.9 million for 2024, a substantial 15% more than last year, he questioned the number of reports completed and presented.
Patterson noted that the agency spent a total of $435.1 million since its re-establishment in 2022.
According to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira, the PPC completed four investigations, two of which were published.
“This body was established in July 2022, after a period of a long period from 2019…, the PPC doesn’t make up investigations, matters have to be referred to it, whether by complaints or people requesting investigations. They have their own monitoring rule, and therefore if they have been able to complete four investigations, that is based on the requests made to them,” stated Minister Teixeira.
She further explained that upon re-establishment, the Commission was busy setting up office and re-hiring staff, inclusive of a new Chief Executive Officer.
According to Teixeira, when the PPP/C resumed power, “a number of constitutional bodies have noted that when they did an audit of the files of complaints that were made to them, those files have disappeared, and there is no record in many of the agencies.”
The Minister noted that the PPC had received twelve requests from July 2022 to December 2023.
She indicated that whoever was responsible for the disappearance of the files before the Committee’s re-establishment wanted to cleanse the PPC.