Procuring entities flouting government rules

The then Office of the Contractor General (now Integrity Commission) has reported in its 2016 annual report that some procuring entities in the public sector have failed to adhere to the Ministry of Finance and Public Service's (MOFPS) directive relating to publication of procurement notices on the Government of Jamaica Public Procurement Page.

During its monitoring activities in 2016, the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) said that it encountered numerous instances whereby procuring entities or public bodies did not comply with the MOFPS requirements.

The Non-Construction Contracts, Licences and Permits Division (NCCLP) of the OCG has highlighted at least three projects it monitored in 2016, which failed to conform with the publication of procurement notices.

On the NCCLP list of procuring entities in 2016 that failed to observe directives regarding the publication of procurement notices are the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, the Factories Corporation of Jamaica and the National Family Planning Board.

According to the OCG, the publication of procurement notices for the Review of the Grade 4 Literacy and Numeracy Test and Development of a Grade 4 Test of Literacy in Language Arts and Math was not done on the Government of Jamaica Public Procurement Page.

Other projects that did not adhere to the government requirement were the Procurement for the Provision of Security Services for the Factories Corporation of Jamaica on 225 1/2 Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, and Consultant to Facilitate and Develop a Corporate Plan 2017-2020 for the National Family Planning Board.