Paulwell's muddled logic

For once, I agree with Minister Phillip Paulwell. Wednesday's Gleaner quotes him as stating that: "If we are patriotic, we must see that what has happened with the IDB as a damnation on our country."

Well, what did happen with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)? It has declined to provide non-equity financing to Energy World International (EWI) because it believes EWI was unfairly selected as the preferred bidder to build a power plant to supply 381 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

And what is the basis of IDB's belief? In September 2013, the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) issued a damning special report which said (1) the decision of the regulator to facilitate the acceptance of EWI's proposal was unfair and irregular and a clear breach of the law; (2) the acceptance of EWI's proposal was irregular and unfair because its proposal was not subjected to the same rigours that were brought to bear on the other proposals; (3) the intervention of Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell in the process was improper; (4) therefore, the consequent acceptance of EWI's proposal was unfair and compromised the integrity of the process.

DEFENDING JAMAICA'S INTERESTS

The OCG was set up by Parliament to oversee government procurement to ensure the Government's own rules, guidelines and procedures are followed by the Government itself. The work of the OCG is profoundly patriotic, as it defends the interests of Jamaica and Jamaicans, even against the very politicians in the Government itself.

Clearly, the IDB takes the OCG more seriously than the Government of Jamaica. Minister Paulwell and his ministry have disregarded the September 2013 OCG special report, while the IDB is taking respectful notice of its findings.

Again I say, I agree with Minister Paulwell: "If we are patriotic, we must see that what has happened with the IDB as a damnation on our country." But then again, maybe it is really a damnation on politicians who seek to pervert the proper course of procurement.

Wednesday's Gleaner further quotes Minister Paulwell: "This affects the reputation of the country … . When somebody says that a process to deal with the largest investment project in your country is flawed, it affects the reputation of Jamaica".

Now what is Minister Paulwell talking about here? EWI's investment in a US$737 power plant, or China Harbour's US$1.5 billion investment in its private port on the Goat Islands?

Either way, again I have to say: I agree with Minister Paulwell. Jamaica's reputation is being damaged by the irregular way the Government is handling these projects, and by the quality of the company it is choosing to keep.

SPECIAL TREATMENT

Clearly, EWI is receiving special treatment. EWI was listed second on the list of preferred bidders (even with the flawed selection process), and was elevated to preferred-bidder status after Azurest-Cambridge, the highest-ranked bidder, failed to make the required posting of a security bid bond by October 3, 2013. But now EWI has failed to make the required posting of a security bid bond by April 25, 2014. Why is Minister Paulwell bending over backwards to give EWI more time? Why didn't he give Azurest-Cambridge more time? Why did he accept the bid from EWI, even though it arrived after the bidding process was closed? Why did EWI submit its bid to the minister and not to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) like everybody was required to?

And so the IDB, a stickler for proper procedure and transparency, has refused to do business with EWI, even as Mr Paulwell, backed by Cabinet, seeks to hug the firm even tighter. In light of the IDB's principled position, we are told that Paulwell has been meeting with the OCG, trying to persuade it to recant aspects of the September 2013 special report, rather than taking the OCG's findings seriously. Isn't this a deeper "damnation on our country"?

Youthful exuberance has become middle-aged exuberance; not much seems to have been learnt in the interval.

If our due diligence reveals that the company we are dealing with cannot produce audited financial statements, or has a questionable reputation, why is our Government doing business with them?

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and a Roman Catholic Deacon. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com