A push by the APNU-AFC representatives on the Public Accounts Committee heeded the final stage of choosing five individuals to head the now-defunct Public Procurement Commission (PPC).
With 26 people initially chosen by the Opposition and Government, eight are now left. Only five are needed to comprise the commission.
This was confirmed by Chair of the PAC, Jermaine Figueira, who said that following a meeting with the PAC Sub-Committee involving Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, four names were put forward by the opposition and four by the Government.
Mr. Figueira said that now the process will move on to them taking the eight names to their respective parties and to deliberate.
This is a significant step considering the fact of how long the process took in the initial stages.
“We have to take those names to our respective parties to further deliberate before we come to the finality of the five names that are required to fill the position as members of the PPC.
“We are still in that process. But I believe we would have made significant strides in naming the candidates to fill the various position on the commission.”
About a week ago, the issue was raised by the Opposition Members. It was explained back then that while several multi-million contracts continue to be given out by the PPP/C Government, it does seem to have some level of corruption.
Additionally, the Opposition Members pointed out that some contractors have also complained about the awarding of contracts to individuals with no experience, while the more qualified continue to be sidelined.
“The projected timeline is that we can reach a position, where both sides agree on the names and that an announcement could be done as early as Monday of next week” Figueira
The PPC is a commission set to scrutinize contracts being awarded and to investigate complaints from other contractors.
