OUTSPOKEN PROCUREMENT REGULATOR REPLACED

MOONILAL Lalchan, who as Procurement Regulator had threatened to prosecute corrupt politicians, is no longer holding the all-important position.

Lalchan, whose five-year term expired in April, has been replaced by Beverly Khan, a former senior public officer.

Upon the expiry of his contract, Lalchan had expressed interest in serving for another term.

But, after a lapse of three months, Khan has been named to the critical post.

I had reported earlier this year that the outspoken Lalchan would not be reappointed.

Lalchan had campaigned for years for the full proclamation of the procurement law, so the regulator “will have the opportunity to investigate wrongdoings from ministers all the way down.”

He said a few months ago: “Once you are involved in those activities, we will be involved in the investigation.”

He noted that offences ranged from splitting procurement to victimisation, bid-rigging, and conduct influencing a public officer, including bribery, conflicts of interest, and coercive or obstructive practices.

The Procurement Regulations Act covers about 315 public bodies, each of which must have a relevant officer and comply with strict stipulations of the law.

In a previous media interview, Lalchan placed the sum lost annually in corruption at a “conservative” $5.2 billion, an average of one-tenth of the annual national budget.

He pointed to areas of corruption, such as submitting procurement bids under paper companies.

In 2020, while commenting on the law not being fully proclaimed, he said: “I believe the political will is not there.”

On the eve of the 2020 general election, he stated: “We all know the alleged corruption that happens in an election year, the award of contracts and so on.”

Pressing for the full proclamation of the law, he said then: “This alleged corruption is too engrained right now in the population.

“We have to get the changes started in a new generation.”

He has spoken of his desire to “rid the country of corrupt practices and wastage that has been alleged for a number of years and has been noted by certain commissions of enquiry.”

The Harvard-educated chartered accountant has a solid background in public procurement, in corporate governance, and in executive management.

He served in senior capacities in the energy sector and as a director of a Government-owned company.

He is a former President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

He was head-hunted for the post of Procurement Regulator.

I had reported that senior government officials were uneasy about Lalchan being the procurement regulator at a time when the law is fully proclaimed that suspects could be investigated.

In announcing the appointment of Khan, the office of the country’s President said she had “formidable public procurement experience” in the public sector.