In an intense exchange during today’s consideration of the 2024 budget estimates for constitutional agencies, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira revealed that all complaints lodged with the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) during the coalition government’s time in office mysteriously disappeared.
Teixeira disclosed that the commission was non-functioning from 2019 and upon reactivation by her government in 2022, it was forced to commence its operations anew due to the mysterious disappearance of all complaints filed under the coalition.
Teixeira was at the time responding to questions from Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson and shed light on the challenges faced by commission under her government. Patterson pointedly questioned the agency’s expenditure of $199.8 million in 2022 and $235.3 million in 2023, juxtaposed with only two published reports during that period. Seeking an explanation, Patterson drilled into the agency’s performance and efficacy.
In response, Texeira explained the hurdles the PPC encountered upon its reestablishment by her government in July 2022 after the prolonged hiatus since 2019. She emphasized that the PPC, like other constitutional bodies, faced a significant setback – the disappearance of numerous complaint files. Teixeira shared her personal experience of filing complaints that mysteriously vanished, suggesting a deliberate effort to cleanse the PPC and possibly other constitutional bodies of crucial investigations.
“So whoever did that wanted to cleanse the PPC and maybe other constitutional bodies (of) what were very interesting investigations that were required,” Teixeira lamented.
The minister even highlighted the monumental task of rebuilding the agency, after the coalition government lost office. She said this saw a dwindled staff complement of about six individuals when the PPC was reactivated. The process involved hiring new personnel, including a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and navigating the intricacies of the commission’s operations.
Despite these challenges, Teixeira affirmed the PPC’s commitment to conducting investigations based on requests.
Patterson pressed further on this, seeking specifics on the number of requests for investigations received by the PPC from July 2022 when it was reactivated to December 2023. Teixeira responded, acknowledging 12 requests made to the PPC during this period. Out of these, the commission successfully completed four probes, publishing two reports.
