1.
THE POLITICS OFTHE POLITICS OF
PROCUREMENTPROCUREMENT
Presenter Winston Riley
President of the Joint Consultative
Council (Trinidad and Tobago)

2.
Objectives of This PresentationObjectives of This Presentation
 To show how procurement methods and
delivery systems have acted as drivers for
institutional change in the public and
private sectors.
 To highlight some of the negative impacts
of procurement methods.
 To show how private sector public sector
partnering can positively affect the change
process

3.
Historical OverviewHistorical Overview
 Pre-Independence conditions - Public
sector delivery and maintenance of
Infrastructure facilities
 Post-Independence - Increase
demand for infrastructure facilities
 The procurement approaches of the
lending agencies not ideologically
free

4.
Historical Overview Cont’d.Historical Overview Cont’d.
 In the initial stages the shift to the private
sector was based more on the need to
satisfy private sector interest of the
donating countries of the lending
institutions than on public sector
inefficiencies
 The negative impacts of the shift away
from public sector delivery contributed to
the inefficiencies in public sector and
eventually to the justification of the shift

5.
Negative ImpactsNegative Impacts
 The project oriented approach to delivery
is blind to negative impacts in wake of
achievements
 The emptying of the public sector
institutions of trained professional and
sub-professional staff
 Young professionals coming into public
institutions could not benefit from
experience professionals

6.
Negative Impacts, Cont’d.Negative Impacts, Cont’d.
 The setting up of Project Execution Units
within the public institutions led to further
depletion of trained staff available for the
day to day operations of institutions
 Young inexperienced professionals were
catapulted into management positions

7.
Negative Impacts, Cont’d.Negative Impacts, Cont’d.
 The new private sector firms initially did
not have track records hence joint venture
arrangements with foreign firms were an
imperative. This led to a reduction in
demand for trained local professionals in
the private sector
 The cyclical nature of the construction
sector led to a contract approach to the
procurement of staff in private firms thus
contributing to the migration of trained
professionals.

8.
CaveatCaveat
• There are several other negative
impacts such as the impact on
training institutions and maintenance
There have been several positive
impacts in the move to develop a
private sector capability

9.
Caveat, Cont’d.Caveat, Cont’d.
 There is no attempt here to place all the
blame for the collapse of Public Sector
Institutions on procurement approaches.
The attempt is only to bring to our awareness
the fact that procurement approaches are not
ideologically free and do act as change agents
in a given environment. What is important here
is that several of the changes are unintended
and can have the multiplier effect of
demanding more of the same

10.
Present Demands For PublicPresent Demands For Public
Sector/ Private Sector PartneringSector/ Private Sector Partnering
 In several Caribbean Islands because of -:
– The increased demand for infrastructure
facilities
– The long delivery time associated with
financing from International Lending Agencies
– The requirement for off balance sheet
financing
There is a high demand for Public Sector/
Private Sector Partnering which has led
to Insurance Companies and Banks
becoming major players in the
construction sector

11.
Present Demands For PublicPresent Demands For Public
Sector/ Private Sector Partnering,Sector/ Private Sector Partnering,
Cont’d.Cont’d.
 Impacts-:
—The proliferation of Project Management
organisations as independent agents, quasi-
government organisations or subsidiaries of
local financial institutions.
—The changing of the traditional roles of
professionals
—Loss of transparency in public projects

12.
The Role of The JointThe Role of The Joint
Consultative Council inConsultative Council in
Influencing Institutional ChangeInfluencing Institutional Change
in The Road Sectorin The Road Sector
• Acts as a catalyst for bringing all the
expertise in the Transportation sector
together to identify the problems and
propose solutions
• Acts as a catalyst in bringing all the stake
holders (including the government)
together in one symposium to discuss
problems and solutions

13.
The Role of The JointThe Role of The Joint
Consultative Council inConsultative Council in
Influencing Institutional ChangeInfluencing Institutional Change
in The Road Sector, Cont’d.in The Road Sector, Cont’d.
• Develops a clear position on the way
forward
• Public ventilation of JCC’s position
• Provides the necessary advise and make
our members available for consultation by
the relevant Minister.

14.
The Role of The JointThe Role of The Joint
Consultative Council inConsultative Council in
Influencing Intuitional Change inInfluencing Intuitional Change in
The Road Sector, Cont’d.The Road Sector, Cont’d.
Notes:
Structural requirements
Responsiveness to demand of Clients
Flexibility in Procurement process
The institutionalisation of training and
Research and Development
Examples from Jamaica