Cayman procurement practices criticised

Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick says he has uncovered instances of political interference and poor management of procurement practices that could be wasting millions of the British Overseas Territory’s dollars.

His audit of how government is managing the contracting and purchasing of supplies, services and assets worth over US$250,000, found that government procurement has not been effectively managed and that there has been a fundamental breakdown in processes and systems to ensure fairness, efficiency, transparency and value-for-money in procurement.

The Auditor General reported that he had found instances of some politicians interfering in the procurement process in which they should have no role to play. The report goes on to say that significant risks of abuse, mismanagement, fraud and corruption may result and that political interference must stop if the operations of Government are to have any credibility and trust by suppliers.

“While the Government has a responsibility to have appropriate business practices in place ensuring contracting is fair and transparent, my audit found that very little is being done in this regard,” said Swarbrick.

“I could not find some of the basic elements of a procurement function such as providing training, direction, and guidance to officials that ensure procurement is carried out properly.”

The Auditor General also found it disconcerting that with such limited resources available to the Government, that there were so few formal contracting processes in place that would help save some money. He found, for example, that managers have very little information available to them when they are procuring supplies, services and assets.

“I expected to find someone in the Government who was responsible for ensuring that ministries and portfolios as well as statutory authorities and government companies were buying things at the lowest possible costs,” he said. “I found no one in the Government is responsible for doing this. There is a lack of central leadership and the result is that the Government is likely wasting several millions of dollars.”

The report makes 30 recommendations for improving the procurement practices of the Government.

Deputy Governor Donovan Ebanks, who is Head of the Civil Service, acknowledged that procurement is an area in which the country’s systems have not been developed as fully as they should be.

However, he said, “while the Auditor General’s report makes a number of broadly critical statements as to the state of procurement, I am proud of, and grateful for, all of those public servants who consistently strive to ensure that the interest of the public is best served within the systems at their disposal.”

Ebanks said the authorities would develop a modern and resilient procurement system that continually strives for efficiency, effectiveness and value-for-money, while ensuring that all entities eligible to provide goods, services or facilities have the opportunity to do so, and that the determination of the success of offerings is based on clear, fair and auditable criteria and processes.

Source: Caribbean360