Auditor General raises flags with $24-million contract awarded by Houses of Parliament to renovate lounge

A $1-million discount granted by a bidder to the Houses of Parliament, which later awarded the firm a $24-million contract, undermined the “integrity and transparency” of the procurement process, an audit report has concluded.

Further, the report said a review of procurement records revealed that the contract was signed “after the works had been substantially completed.”

The contractor was not identified in the report, which followed an Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) special audit of key operational areas at the Houses of Parliament. The document was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The report criticised the request for the contractor to reduce their bid value and said the actions were in breach of the Government’s procurement guidelines and the instructions sent to other bidders.

Government of Jamaica procurement guidelines stipulate that modifications or withdrawals received after the deadline must not be opened, and discounts must be disclosed at the bid opening; any undisclosed discounts cannot be considered during evaluation.

The instructions to all bidders made it clear that bids cannot be modified or withdrawn after the submission deadline.

The contract for the renovation of the members’ lounge at Gordon House—the Parliament building—was dated October 2024, the report noted.

The renovation was to “facilitate dining by members, mainly when meetings of the Senate and Lower House are held at Gordon House,” it added.

However, according to the AuGD, the quantity surveyor’s report indicated that the works commenced on September 1, 2024, and were completed just over a month later, on October 4, 2024.

“This practice contravenes standard procurement procedures, which require a signed agreement outlining terms and conditions to be in place before work commences to safeguard the Government’s interest,” the AuGD said.

The AuGD also noted that the renovation works and a related $3-million contract for the supply of fans to the Houses of Parliament lacked proper needs assessment and were not included in the Parliament’s procurement plan or annual capital budget.

“While HoP [Houses of Parliament] cited urgent health and safety concerns for the lounge refurbishment and identified 14 air-conditioning units in need of replacement, no supporting evidence or analysis was presented to justify these procurement decisions,” said the audit report.

“Additionally, due to the non-submission of appropriation accounts for the 2024-2025 financial year, we were unable to determine if the expenditure exceeded the approved budget,” it added.

The AuGD 2024 annual report noted that the Houses of Parliament has not submitted appropriation accounts for six consecutive fiscal years, starting from 2018-2019.

- Livern Barrett

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