Contractor General and Procurement
Barbados in need of a Contractor General
At a period when a wave of developing countries have linked their development to the implementation of anti-corruption measures, Barbados has seemingly stemmed the tide in this regard. Barbados; a country once praised for punching above its weight, has arguably failed to continue its tradition as a regional leader in matters of good governance, as no notable legislative changes to improve our opaque and unaccountable governance system have been made in recent times. This failure has left Barbadian tax-payers to finance institutions and processes which are unnecessarily susceptible to costly corruption and other wrong-doings.
Procurement at risk of corruption
Public procurement is particularly vulnerable to corruption due to the large amounts of transactions, financial interests at stake and the failure to promote integrity during the process. Corruption risks are also heightened due to the exclusiveness of the process and the close interactions between public officials and business personnel, which potentially leads to networks of patronage and cronyism at tax-payer’s expense.
A procurement system where such practices go unchallenged come at a high and direct cost. These practices reduce the appetite for business investments and inflates the prices of goods and services, since corrupt business people seek to recover money spent on bribery. Barbadians therefore ought to be protected through legislative enactments otherwise they will continue to endure these preventative costs. Such protections require the creation of mechanisms which monitor all aspects of bidding, promote transparency in awarding of contracts and develop fraud indicators to hold perpetrators accountable.
Under Barbados’ current procurement model, sufficient oversight, transparency and security are wanting, as person’s responsible for awarding of contracts operate under a procurement system susceptible to political and monetary interferences. Such political interferences include the discretionary powers granted to government minsters, allowing contracts to be approved directly by cabinet. This could potentially jeopardize the integrity, impartiality and independence of the tendering process.
An alternative model for procurement
Jamaica presents an alternative model to the procurement system through the Office of the Contractor General which mitigates many corruption risks and promote integrity in the procurement process. The aim of the Contractor General is to ensure the awarding of government contracts is an external and independent operation, sheltered from the potentially self-motivated and political inclinations of government ministers.
This political inference could be reduced since the monitoring, awarding and the implementation of contracts are the responsibility of the Contractor General, which is designed to ensures impartially and meritocracy. This process is also aided by a National Contracts Commission (NCC); an independent anti-corruption commission. This NCC supplements the Contractor General’s office by setting the qualifications and procedures for the awarding of contracts while promoting transparency. Powers of the Contractor General also extend to all government contracts in all ministries, departments and agencies. Access is also granted to all books, records, documents, stores or other property belonging to government. Far reaching powers of inquiry and investigation are also permitted, since they can summon any person or witnesses to provide information and produce documents. Another major selling point of the Jamaican Contractor General is the near total independence enshrined by law, as they shall not be subject to the direction of any other person or authority. Undoubtedly, this independence frustrates and forestalls corrupt elements which may seek to coerce and bribe members of parliament to direct the awarding of contracts in their favour.
Further reforms needed
Although Jamaica may have set the gold standard in procurement in the region, Barbados’ efforts at reform could go even further, by embracing contemporary international best practices which bring additional layers of integrity and security to the procurement process. Since greater transparency for all involved parties is central to reducing corruption in procurement, countries like Australia and Japan have introduced specific codes of conduct and asset declarations requirements for procurement officials. These requirements aim to detect potential conflicts of interest which could influence and facilitate corruption, so it could be prevented. It must also be acknowledged that procurement is an activity involving both the public and private sector and joint efforts to tackle corruption are needed. Policy initiatives created by government and the private sector to prevent bribery, collusion and other corrupt practices, become useful in the fight against corruption.
The availability of information technologies in Barbados is an untapped resource that can also promote transparency and accountability in procurement. The introduction of E-Procurement policies allows for standardisation and complacence with contract bidding, as well as easier detection of irregularities and corruption by providing audit services with trails which facilitate investigative activities. E-procurement also provides a platform for publicity and transparency which can deter instances of corruption. Publicised and transparent procedures allow a wide variety of stakeholders to scrutinise public officials’ and contractors’ performance and decisions which helps keep them accountable. Additional information containing the details and real time changes to contracts awarded should also be placed online, where the public, private sector, media and other organisations have full access to how tax dollars are being spent.
Barbados must lead again
For Barbados to be once again at the forefront of regional development, it must address its deficit in good governance. The cost of doing nothing to our people and national development is one we as a country could ill afford. It therefore is imperative that our political leaders commit themselves regardless of administration, to improving the procurement system, starting with Contractor General legislation.