By DANIEL FERGUSON

Most of you know that my written articles are geared towards sharing knowledge and insights with both my public procurement colleagues and the Bahamian public at large. But, today, I write sombrely and reflect on how my journey in public procurement began with my departed friend, Joshua Sears.

It was the summer of 1977, after I had graduated from A.F. Adderley senior high school and obtained employment at the Ministry of External Affairs as a summer student, when I met this quiet, well-mannered young man who had just completed college.

I had desk in the same office with him, and I soon discovered he was born on the island of Exuma and, in particular, the Forbes Hill area. This was the island where both my parents were born, which created an instant bond between us and he became my mentor from then.

My job, though much more menial than his, was clipping out newspaper articles relative to international issues that could affect The Bahamas. He would always explain to me the significance of the stories in those articles and encourage me to select a career that I would be comfortable with.

At that time, I was interested in criminology and joining the Royal Bahamas Police Force. After meeting with the then-Commissioner of Police, a meeting organised by the late Paul Adderley, my hopes were dashed when the Commissioner advised that the police force did not need a criminologist. My second choice was the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, which I subsequently joined on May 1, 1978.

After spending some 16 years there, and realising that it was time for me to move on and make another contribution elsewhere in the public service, I contacted Mr Sears and requested a secondment to the Ministry of Health where he was the permanent secretary at the time.

That request was granted by the then-Defence Force commander, and Mr Sears appointed me as a co-ordinator for a biological diversity conference. After the conference I was assigned to the Materials Management Directorate of the Ministry of Health, a department responsible for the procurement of medical and surgical supplies. It was not long after this, when the Defence Force realised that I had no intention of returning, that they stopped my salary. It was Joshua Sears who made sure I was paid to meet my financial obligations.

While at Materials Management, he appointed me to manage a group of consultants who were to reorganise the Department, which at the time was extremely inefficient. We were successful in introducing the first competitive bidding process for medical and surgical supplies. The entire procurement process was computerised, resulting in a savings of $1m at that time and a new warehouse was organised. During the reorganisation process, Mr Sears was never bullish, nor did he act in an all-knowing manner but always respected another person’s views with tolerance. These are attributes that are so lacking in procurement today.

I was subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Health, and became responsible for a $4m budget for the procurement and distribution of medical and surgical supplies for the Princess Margaret Hospital, the Rand Hospital, Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and the Public Health Department clinics where I spent a total of eight years. During this period, Mr Sears also found time to sponsor me to Scottish Freemasonry. I wish to offer my sincere condolences to his wife Michelle, children, Khandra, Kristi, Kharin and Mikhail.

To my Brother, friend and mentor, I will always be indebted to you. Rest in Peace Josh.

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.