PROCUREMENT REGULATOR HANDS IN REPORT — FINALLY

AFTER public enquiries about the delay, Procurement Regulator Beverly Khan has presented her overdue annual report.

But the public still cannot access the highly-anticipated report.

Khan handed in her first report last week.

The report covers April 26, 2023 to April 25, 2024.

She said in a statement that the report “provides the public with a fulsome appraisal of the nation’s public procurement and disposal system since the full proclamation of the Act.”

The relevant law is the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act.

Khan presented the report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate, as mandated in the law.

The report is to be referred to the Public Accounts Committee.

“In light of this,” Khan said, “the Office will not publish the report before it has been laid in Parliament.”

On June 12, Khan stated that her office was working on what she said would be “the most accurate and comprehensive report possible, in the sole interest of safeguarding public trust and confidence.”

This media agency recently reported on the delayed report and the lack of action in response to claims of procurement irregularities in the public sector.

Opposition parliamentarian Dr. Roodal Moonilal and others also queried the non-delivery of the report.

Moonilal has also called on the regulator to investigate several alleged costly corrupt activities involving public contracts.

There is now heightened interest in the regulator’s report.