GOVERNMENT and Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) have again voiced their frustration about the lengthy procurement process involved in getting projects within their constituency implemented.

According to the MPs, the procurement delays affect road projects in particular and action needs to be taken now to address the long-standing issue.

Some MPs, at Wednesday’s sitting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament, put the blame at the feet of the State entity charged with overseeing these projects, the National Works Agency (NWA).

They charged that the NWA lacks the required resources to undertake procurement activities.

Opposition Member of Parliament Lisa Hanna (St Ann South Eastern) said she has seen situations in her constituency where the procurement process for road projects took more than a year and a half to be completed.

“So what happens typically is you get an allocation and because of the lack of human resources and technical resources, I am told within the NWA, sometimes it takes nine months, sometimes it takes over a year…it takes an inordinately long amount of time,” said Hanna as she pointed to what she termed, the NWA’s “administrative logistical ineptitude”.

Hanna argued that all MPs have problems with the agency’s project execution.

“So when we see the budget and we say, okay good, we can go now and tell the people [about the road projects] and for months ‘nutten nuh gwaan’ and it is fundamentally on our heads,” added Hanna.

She suggested that the Ministry of Finance should have discussions with the Office of the Prime Minister to revisit the policy, “Because we have been saying this with procurement — the NWA does not have the staff to do the amount of roads under the programme that you have budgeted this year”.

Fellow Opposition MP Fitz Jackson (St Catherine Southern) agreed with Hanna about how frustrating the process is when MPs hear allocations being made for road works then nothing happens for months or even years, because the project is stuck at the procurement stage.

“When you hear you get an allocation to fix roads, you go to the point that you identify the roads, they go out there and they do the costing and there is a long gap between that exercise and when the repair actually starts,” Jackson said as he pointed to a $40-million road rehabilitation project the Government had promised which took more than nine months to start in his constituency.

Government MP Tova Hamilton (Trelawny Northern) told the committee that she has also experienced delays with NWA and typically calls the agency about three times a week to try to get updates on the projects she has in her constituency.

Hamilton pointed to a road in her constituency that was allocated funding more than a year and a half ago and she was told it is still in procurement stage.

“I always try to ask the reason for these delays and I am told a number of things, including not having the staff, the human resources, to carry out these procurement activities,” she Hamilton.

She said that since being named to the PAAC in September 2020, she has been told on numerous occasions about planned amendments to the procurement rules.

“But we have not seen it. It’s almost a term and I have not seen any changes being made. We keep hearing about it but nothing is being done. And I think at some point, there needs to be action. I do appreciate the need for the procurement process. I’m just saying in the current state; it is anti-development,” added Hamilton.

Her Government colleague Heroy Clarke (St James Central) agreed that something must be done to address the procuring issues which, he said, are hampering development.

But Government Senator Kerensia Morrison questioned whether the problem really lies with the NWA or the finance ministry.

Morrison called for greater support for the NWA as she argued that the delayed start to projects will impact how MPs are perceived by their constituents.

“We cannot continue to see in this country onerous procurement processes…I do understand the mischief that [they] are trying to avoid but I don’t see how the prescription is helping to solve the fundamental problem. It shouldn’t have to take so long. It shouldn’t have to take two, three years. And I do believe that NWA, like most of the agencies, fall under the whip of the Ministry of Finance,” said Morrison.

In response Financial Secretary Darlene Morrison told the committee that the finance ministry is looking at the procurement apparatus and some adjustments should be coming shortly.

She pointed out that to some extent the length of time that procurement takes is related to how well the initial documents are put together.

“I’m aware of bridges, for instance, that have taken very long, which was not necessary. So just blaming the process that is in place, I cannot support because it can be done and has been done by others with much shorter timeliness,” said the financial secretary.

She argued that even with adjustments, if people are not properly acquainted with what is required and do the things in line with what is required, then they might go through a process and get to the Public Procurement Commission and the project is rejected because a step had been incorrectly executed.

“I would say that the NWA has taken significantly longer than is necessary in a number of cases,” admitted the financial secretary.

She said while she is aware that the NWA is not fully staffed, she is not aware that the finance ministry has received any request to adjust the structure of the agency.