Governments at the forefront of driving regional economies

Tue, 05/24/2016 - 12:00am

Public procurement - the use of government funds to acquire goods and services - represents as much as one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries within the CARIFORUM region.

That figure was revealed by Trainer with the International Procurement Institute, Adrian Chin, who indicated that in more developed countries that figure stands at ten to 20 per cent. During the first session of a Level One Training Workshop in Public Procurement held at the Barbados Community College, Chin explained that the contribution of public procurement to GDP seen within CARIFORUM is due to a comparatively weak private sector and governments in the region acting as the primary drivers of economic growth and development.

Speaking to the media following the opening session of the one-day workshop, Chin said his personal belief is that economies should be private sector driven, but supported with relevant Government policies.

“There are a few things I think Government should hold on to, a few institutions – transportation, health care, education… and then you have the private sector come in and they set the policy guidelines for the private sector to manage and push growth through competition. In that way the 30 per cent, 35 per cent would be dramatically reduced,” he said.

While admitting that would not be an easy task, Chin indicated that it would require governments to make certain commitments and even take “some political hits”.

“It is difficult for many ruling parties to do because the objective of a government is to win back the next election and they would make popular choices just to win an election. But particularly these trade agreements that we are seeing now… we are seeing public procurement being a part of the agreements. When public procurement becomes part of these agreements, politics steps out for a while,” he added.

Addressing the participants earlier, he pointed out that while there are different public procurement systems, they all have four fundamental tenets – value, transparency, competition and due process. In respect of value, he said that procurement officers must ensure they follow the Five R’s of Procurement – Right Product, Right Price, Right Quantity, Right Quality, Right Time. He made the point while contending that no procurement system can function without transparency. Chin made it clear that the greater the extent of transparency, the more effective the procurement systems will be.

Moreover, he noted that to obtain the best value for money in the procurement process, it is important to facilitate the participation of the most competitive and able suppliers in a procurement opportunity. He added that it is also important that suppliers are fairly treated, such that they have access to complaints and challenge mechanisms.

Chin explained that yesterday’s workshop forms part of the support the European Union is offering to CARIFORUM Member States in the area public procurement to sensitise various stakeholders including procurement officers, suppliers, academia and the media about what procurement can do to enhance national development and solve some of the social issues in countries. (JRT)

Governments at the forefront of driving regional economies

Barbados Advocate

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