Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony on Tuesday, outlined the conditions for direct public procurement to resolve issues of emergency public matters.

Dr. Anthony explained that the public procurement bill will assist in curbing the powers of the Minister for Finance in respect to contracts of direct purchase.

“Where you have an impending natural disaster, either floods or hurricanes, and in the immediate aftermath, it is clear at that point that you have to move quickly. If you have a hurricane, you have to put equipment onto the roads almost immediately. You may have to build alternative routes and clearly you can’t wait until you put out bids and ask persons to clear out those routes.”

Dr. Anthony also spoke on the provision to govern Public Private Partnerships.

“This has confirmed the moves by this government and former governments to embrace Public Private Partnerships for the development of the country but to introduce a regulatory and administrative framework for such agreements and for such partnerships. You will note such projects can be defined by either the steering committee that is created for it or alternatively they can act on behalf of the Cabinet.”

An additional function of the bill, Dr. Kenny Anthony stressed, is to clearly define misconduct and corrupt practices in the public procurement process.