Businesses are refusing to work with gov’t, says Penn
Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn has bemoaned the cumbersome procurement process used by the government, stating that there is a growing number of businesses that are choosing to not work with the government.
The government is expecting to spend some $96 million on goods and services in 2024, which means many local businesses could get a cut of this amount if they choose to supply government agencies and departments.
Penn said many business owners used to be excited about the planned government spending, but he said he has noticed that many are choosing to stay away from doing business with the state.
“People are now reluctant to do business with the government and we have to find a way to make the process much easier. There’s also the hardship that comes with the new Procurement Act. If you want to do a basic service for the government, businesses are continuously being asked to get their staff to put together quotes and bids. They have to do these processes over and over and they’re not getting the jobs. So people are saying they’re not participating anymore. It’s becoming extremely cumbersome and difficult to do business with government,” Penn explained.
He also pointed out that there are inconsistencies when it comes to the guidelines, as different agencies and departments abide by different standards.
“When I was in Cabinet with the Premier, I said we need to have proper operating procedures — be very clear about what the procedures are for doing business with any entity. There’s a level of inconsistency across departments and ministries in terms of the procurement process. There’s no clarity for the business sector that shows how they should engage and it’s frustrating that sector,” Penn stated.
On top of those issues, Penn said businesses are being pushed away from the government because they have problems with how they are paid. He said millions of dollars are returned yearly to the treasury because funds aren’t being used to pay for goods and services that they were originally allotted for.
“Again it goes back to the level of efficiency of government. Premier and ministers, we have to fix this Procurement Act, it’s not working for our people, it is creating a bottleneck and it’s hurting the private and business sectors,” Penn explained to the House of Assembly as elected leaders debated the 2024 national budget.
The procurement process used by the government was further complicated after the Commission of Inquiry findings which forced the government to further formalise their procurement process in order to allow transparency and accountability in the governance of the territory.
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This was broken well before the procurement act – people stay away because – no mater what you bid, one man getting to do all the stages, no matter what you bid one company getting to do all the security. No matter what you bid one man doing all the construction. Jokes.
@No sah
Not to mention how long they take to pay a small business especially if you are not a crony. Small businesses rely heavily on cash coming in until the business has built itself up some.
It is as if people feel big, paying those who can actually wait on a payment, but frown at the small businessman just starting up.
Penn is a joke and a waste. The entire opposition is. For people who claim to love the BVI, they have absolutely nothing good to say each sitting. It’s just a string of complaints complaints complaints and negativity. Are you telling me that absolutely nothing is happening in the BVI that can be celebrated? I know everything isn’t happening the way and in the time span it should but aren’t we making at least an inch of progress that’s recognizable?
Businesses weren’t working with the governments for years now, even when they were in power. The present opposition just does a lot of grandstanding and talk to make impressions to the public. What has Marlon Penn done in his district? Marlon does nothing in his district except for mentioning the ills of soldier hill, chapel hill, parham town and Josiahs bay. Each representative has some
Level of power that they can initiate projects in their district. What’s projects has Marlon initiated for the 8th district?
And what did he do significantly when he was on the governments side? What did Myron do significantly when he was on the governments side except for the wall? What did Mitch do significantly when he was on the governments side? What projects did they themselves undertake and complete? Yet they have the most talk now.
Talk is cheap. These guys are so misleading.
Take up an entire 30 mins talking about the premier and travel and they do the exact same thing. All of a sudden everyone’s concerned with government travel. Myron is a miserable and angry person. Everything he says comes out in anger. However gullible persons say it’s his passion speaking. All he does is compares the BVI with other countries. Countries that have their own set of problems.
The opposition were once the government and they travelled and no one said anything. Even now as opposition members they travel. Attending theses meetings and conferences overseas are important because they allow the leaders, both opposition and government to view leadership, policies, programs, initiatives that successful elsewhere and how they can create such to advance the BVI. Eg: the opposition travelled a few months ago to gain insight on house policies.
These guys need to stop the complaining and work together.
Vendors do not want to expend money, get the job, complete work and then Government takes forever to pay vendors. This is a sign of liquidity problems from the government’s side that businesses must factor in.
Government doesn’t pay on time
Do not blame the flawed processes of this government on the public or the British.
No other customer you have to wait 6 months before you get you money.
Without interest! Only in the BVI with Premier S!ow W@nde and the A$$ C!own Brigade in charge. Come think about it this has been a problem for decades that quite frankly this administration has only made worse. Thanks S!ow W@nde.
Now Malon, what is your suggestion? If none, go Seh dung
You must be a Member of Alcohol Anonymous.
How can they fix a problem if someone does not point out the problem? What Hon. Penn said made sense. Previous Governments on all sides are the cause of today’s problems. They did infact only gave their Families, Friends and Cronies all the Jobs until the COI put a spokes in their Wheels. The Procurement process MUST continue But I agree the Policies and Procedures MUST be the same for everyone and Small
Businesses should be paid in a timely manner. What is wrong with the messenger if the message is the truth??? You must be in AA. But its not American Airlines.