New group tells Rowley to rejoin JSC on procurement

Keith Rowley is under increasing pressure to rejoin the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on public procurement.

The Opposition Leader announced last month that members of his party will no longer participate in the process, which is aimed at bringing in legislation to ensure there is transparency and accountability in the award of public contracts.

Rowley justified his decision by saying that the government is not serious about the issue, adding that the opposition will deal with the matter in the Parliament.

“From that standpoint we will now withdraw from the Joint Select Committee of Parliament and allow the Government to bring to the Parliament on its own whatever it wants to bring and we will treat with it in the Parliament when they bring it,” Rowley told reporters.

However the government and several interest groups have advised Rowley to rethink his position because participation in the committee allows the opposition to give its views to create a sound piece of legislation.

Rowley's party never considered introducing such legislation during its tenure in government. And the current administration has suggested that Rowley's reluctance to continue to serve on the JSC is because the People's National Movement (PNM) does not want transparency and accountability in the procurement process.

Now a group calling itself the Private Sector/Civil Society group is urging Rowley to get back in the process. It comprises members of the Joint Consultative Council, contractors, architects and engineers, among others.

The group held a media conference Wednesday and asked Rowley to "state in unambiguous terms" what are his conditions for rejoining the JSC and also to state the Opposition's position with respect to the White Paper on public procurement.

Spokesman for the group, Winston Riley, said the role of the Opposition on the JSC is a critical one and must be an integral part of the process towards fixing the public procurement system.

Riley also invited both Rowley and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to meet with the new group in an effort to bring greater clarity and transparency to the process.

"All we are hearing is they want new legislation," Riley said, "but we are not hearing what changes are needed."