by Linda Straker
- Existing cleaning staff fearful for lives because of uncertain information concerning Covid-19 at the time
- 2014 Procurement legislation allows for one service provider “owing to a sudden unforeseen event” and extreme urgent need for goods, works or services
- Service was contracted to FAITH Development Corporation Inc.
Former Education Minister Emmalin Pierre has explained that the Government of Grenada adopted single or sole sourcing procurement procedures to contract the cleaning and sanitising services of schools during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic because of the urgency to get the service.
The 2014 Procurement legislation explains the circumstances when and how Government can procure using one supplier, contractor, or service provider. The law states that such a procuring format can be used “owing to a sudden unforeseen event” and “there is extreme urgent need” for goods, works or services to be procured.
“Because of the urgency, the other available methods of procurement allowed by the provisions of this Act are impractical or would cause delay, and the circumstances that gave rise to the urgency were not foreseeable and were not the result of dilatory conduct on the part of the procuring entity,” are the circumstances for single source contracts in the legislation.
“All of those will be considered special emergency situations, special circumstances. For example, special circumstances of replacing people immediately because you don’t want a school to go without a sanitiser the next morning. Cabinet would have deliberated and taken a decision to go that route,” she explained during a news conference on Thursday, 24 August 2022.
The service was contracted to a Community Based Organisation, FAITH Development Corporation Inc. Pierre acknowledged that she is acquainted with the people who set up and registered the entity, which is also involved in the training of young people locally and externally.
“I have heard comments that this company was set up to do the sanitising. That is totally false… we found ourselves in a crisis just about a week before schools reopened when stakeholders said to us that they would not return to school if we don’t sanitise inside and outside,” Pierre admitted that existing cleaning staff at the time was fearful for their lives because of the uncertain information concerning Covid-19.
The stakeholders also demanded that there would be continuous cleaning or sanitising at educational institutions. After cleansing schools for reopening, the company was eventually contracted to provide the service continuously.
The 2022 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure shows that more than EC$2.9 million was assigned for Contracts, Outsourcing, and Other Services for the Ministry of Education under the Schools Administration and Management Unit for 2020, but it was reduced to less than EC$1 million in 2022.
In March 2020, Grenada declared a State of Emergency because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Grenada and many other governments accepted this declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as unforeseeable or unexpected.
Because of the State of Emergency declaration, in the final quarter of 2020, it was announced by the then ruling New National Party (NNP) that Section 10 or the Escape Clause in the Fiscal Responsibility Legislation (FRL) would be suspended.
Section 10 of the FRL provides for the Minister of Finance by Order, to suspend for a period not exceeding one fiscal year, fiscal rules, targets, and corrective measures under Sections 7 and 8, where– (a) a natural disaster, public health epidemic, or war as a result of which a state of emergency has been declared by the Governor-General.
NDC supporter always comment the harshest things
It’s good to have an opposition
NNP supporters can’t open their mouth without receiving negativity from NDC supporters(not constructive criticism); Negativity
It’s always speculation
Be careful, you don’t want to go done in history has the party that gains it’s momentum from hate.
I tell no lie, look at the comments on facebook live, Instagram , tiktok and even here
Your political leader would be ashamed
who she trying to convince. More lies
When will this viscous cycle end?
I and others are still not convince. Do we not have cleaning companies in Grenada that are not align to a political party?
This is a really good question. Emergency or not, if you’re getting a company to do sanitizing, with something as critical as covid, wouldn’t one of the criterion be that the company selected would have experience in sanitizing? If Faith organization is a training facility and community resource center, how did they qualify to sanitze schools?