I was recently asked what my motive was for writing these articles on public procurement in The Bahamas, and what was I hoping to gain from doing so? A friend also told me that the truth may be an offense, but it is not a sin.

My answer to the question was that, as a public procurement professional, I am obligated to share the knowledge and experience I have gained in this profession with my colleagues and the Bahamian people, particularly through training in collaboration with institutions such as the University of the Bahamas. These articles provide them with information, insights and tools so that they can face whatever challenges await in their day-to-day work or decision-making.

Today, I want to examine the Public Procurement Department and the role of the chief procurement officer. The Bahamas Public Procurement Act, in section six, states: Continuation of the Public Procurement Department

(1) The department established under section six of the repealed Act, known as the Public Procurement Department, is continued for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Department shall consist of a chief procurement officer who shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Department and other officers as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Department.

Section nine then deals with the appointment of the chief procurement officer. It states: The chief procurement officer shall be appointed by the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Public Service Commission, after consultation with the minister on such terms and conditions as the Governor-General may determine.

Now let us look at the significant difference between The Bahamas and Jamaica’s Public Procurement Act, particularly clauses 6 (1) and (2): In six (1), the Jamaican Act states: “There is hereby established a unit to be called the Office Establishment of Public Procurement Policy, which shall be under the direction of the Office of the Financial Secretary.”

And clause six (2) in the Jamaican law adds: “The Financial Secretary shall assign to the Office, in such numbers as may, from time to time, be necessary, public officers with training and experience in procurement, one of whom shall be appointed as the head of the Office and designated as the Chief Public Procurement Policy Officer.”

Note that the Jamaican Public Procurement Act emphasises that the officers and chief public procurement policy officer assigned to the Public Procurement Department should be trained and experienced in public procurement. As one of the drafters of the Bahamian Public Procurement Act, I wish to be the first to apologise for this oversight for not ensuring that our law stated the same.

In 2021, the Minnis administration organised the Public Procurement Department, appointed an acting chief procurement officer and doing the exact opposite of what the Jamaican Act required. During the organising of the Department just one officer had formal training in procurement, and he has since left allegedly totally frustrated by his superiors’ lack of procurement knowledge.

Appointments of persons to senior positions, but who lack the requisite knowledge and experience, can be catastrophic and demoralising to other procurement officers. It is like appointing a butcher to manage a centralised procurement unit to procure goods, services and works, and then wondering why your quarterly budget is about to be spent in one month.

By the end of August, another group of students from various ministries and state-owned enterprises will have completed the nine month public procurement and logistics course offered by the University of the Bahamas, making 30 persons to-date. They will be expecting the Public Procurement Department to have the type of leadership that will ensure - four years since the enactment of the Public Procurement Act - that they will have been invited to some type of forum to discuss future career paths, pay structure, procurement regulations and standard operating procedure manuals.

Grim Innocent Salima, a member of the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply, posted the following on the Institute’s Community page: “In public procurement, a standard operating procurement procedures document sets out detailed rules, processes and procedures for procurement within the organisation, and provides further guidance for carrying out procurement activities.

“It serves as operational guidance for all staff involved in any stage of procurement by describing procurement processes and procedures. Its overarching aim is to ensure that operations are conducted economically, efficiently and effectively, whilst adhering to the principles of good governance as well as international standards that are applicable to procurement.”

As indicated, it has been four years since the Public Procurement Act was enacted and none of this has materialised. Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, speaking at the Ministry of National Security’s multi-agency financial accounting conclave on July 7, warned that fragmented decision-making, not red tape, is the real threat to efficiency. “Too often we make decisions in silos,” he said. “We don’t see how one agency’s decision affects another.” It clearly means that these agencies are not getting guidance, in the form of policies, to avoid making decisions in isolation. Which department is responsible?

Dr John Glen, a Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) economist, writing in the CIPS Pulse 2025 first quarter edition, wrote: “The increased volatility and uncertainty driven by geo-political factors, and increased and uncertain tariff regimes, has led - not unexpectedly - to an increased perception by procurement professionals of the risk in global supply chains.

“The turbulent global environment in which procurement professionals now operate will put additional pressure on our colleagues to ensure that global supply chains continue to operate effectively and efficiently.”

So, we must ask ourselves: Do we have procurement officers in the Procurement Department who understand strategic sourcing, supplier management, contract negotiation, risk assessment, compliance, cost effectiveness and ethical standards? You be the judge.

I will continuously state that experienced and qualified procurement specialists in our Public Procurement Department would recognise the strategic importance of transparent, accountable procurement in the cost efficient delivery of goods, works and services, and how to use these as a vital weapon against corruption. Their confidence, knowledge and experience can be a deterrent in preventing egotistical, petty, narcissistic-minded superiors from micro-managing and manipulating the Department. We have qualified and experienced public procurement officers in The Bahamas who we can use. It should not be because you are a political ally, and end up in the position without the experience and training or, like one would say, it is him or me just to stifle one with the requisite qualifications.

References: Lynch T., Jorge A., Public Procurement and Contract Administration

NB: Daniel Ferguson, FCIPS, is a retired chief petty officer from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), lead investigator on the 2004 Lorequin Commission of Inquiry, a former chief supplies officer of the Ministry of Health, procurement consultant at the Ministry of Finance, adjunct facilitator on public procurement at the University of the Bahamas, and former component co-ordinator for the IDB-sponsored public financial management reform project, in particular public procurement reform.

He led the drafting team for the development of the Public Procurement Act 2021 and public procurement regulations, and assisted with the creation of the University of the Bahamas professional procurement officers training framework while managing the development of the e-procurement supplier registry. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply with more than 25 years’ experience in public procurement. He was the Caribbean’s representative to the International Network of Public Procurement Officers for the years 2019-2021.