By Sue-Ann Wayow
ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Reginald Armour, SC, have met again with procement officials.
Last week, Armour and other members of his ministerial team met with Procurement Regulator and Chairman of the Office of Procurement Regulation and his team from the Office of Procurement Regulator (OPR) Moonilal Lalchan.
A media release from the AG’s Office on Monday stated that the meeting was a direct follow-up on the statement made by Armour to the House of Representatives on June 22.
Armour said then, all concerns raised would be addressed with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and government will ensure consultations take place to address those issues in order to allow for full proclamation of the law that seeks to standardise procurement processes.
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act has been assented and is awaiting proclamation.
Since then, there has been an exchange of correspondence between the two parties.
At the meeting, Armour spoke about Government’s commitment to proclaim the public procurement legislation on the basis of a properly planned implementation and operationalization of the law and shared informative documents with the OPR.
Lalchan delivered a presentation on the remit of the OPR and its progress in ensuring, among other things, the OPR’s Readiness Assessment Checklist Data in addressing concerns expressed by the Attorney General in his Statement to the House and was highlighted by a commitment by the OPR Chairman to provide Armour with written updates and responses in the shortest time possible.
The meeting was very cordial and addressed a number of key priority areas including the steps necessary for ensuring that public and public/private entities are fully prepared and equipped for the proclamation of the Public Procurement Act and the implementation of the law, with extensive support from the OPR, the release stated.
