Procurement board online portal up and running

-Singh urges bidders to make full use of site

The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board’s (NPTAB) new website and portal is now fully operational and Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh has pledged to ensure it is always updated and is appealing to bidders to maximise their use of it.

“The portal is up and I must emphasise that it is extremely important, not only because of the law, but transparency. This gives bidders and the public the opportunity to see what is happening, even as it ensures that the Procurement Act is adhered to,” Singh told Stabroek News when contacted.

“It is our hope that the public, especially bidders, makes maximum use of it as they check not only how tenders are awarded but ensure that lawful processes are followed,” he added.

The website can be accessed at www.NPTA.gov.gy. Under its motto: Transparency, Efficiency, Fairness and Accountability in Public Sector Procurement, the site has seven navigational links. Users are given the opportunity to browse through procurement opportunities, tenders awarded, minutes of tender openings, and procurement documents.

A link for releases from the agency can also be accessed and that link has a sub-heading for the list of all companies barred from bidding here.

Users are also given links to key resources on the right hand side of the page where a general Public Procurement Guide, Standard Evaluation Criteria Handbook, and help to understanding the complaints system are listed.

In late March, NPTAB Chairman Tarachand Balgobin had told this newspaper that the online portal for the posting of all government contracts had been completed and would be launched at a seminar for Permanent Secretaries and their procurement support staff.

It is unclear if the seminar has taken place but checks by this newspaper show the website is functional with bids from December 2020 to April 22 being posted.

It was the Senior Minister who last month announced that the online portal for the publishing of all awards of government contracts was being set up by NPTAB, in light of the continuing complaints over the secrecy of awards.

“It is an issue that came to me and I raised this issue as well that we are required to publish the awards as mandated by law,” Dr Singh had previously told this newspaper when he had been contacted on the issue.

“For whatever reason, they have not been publishing as is required. I raised this with the NPTAB Board and my position is that they must comply. It is to this end that they are currently working on an online portal to have this addressed. They will publish all things required by the Procurement Act,” he had added.

Bidders have long complained that after spending sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars on bid documents and submitting tenders, contracts are awarded and they are not given any reasons for the rejection of their bids.

Bemoaning a system which has long left bidders out of the loop on what happened to their tenders, some contractors had further complained and urged that given the global COVID-19 pandemic, when most institutions have gone virtual, it would be more practical to have the information online.

Balgobin said that the current administration of NPTAB understands how vital it is, not only for abiding by the Procurement Act but also giving bidders the opportunity to know the outcome of tenders submitted, while at the same time empowering them also to correct areas that may have led to their tender being deemed non-responsive.

The Senior Minister yesterday echoed this position as he implored the public to use the site.

“I had emphasised the importance that the NPTAB keep this information up to date and all information is published as per the Procurement Act and I am echoing that position now. But most importantly, I hope that the site is used as much as possible. I ask bidders, procuring agencies, the public; everyone to help us make the system better,” Singh said.

“We are extremely happy that the website is completed and is functional. I look forward to getting feedback, as we work to make systems smooth and as time-resourceful as possible,” he added.