Public Procurement SeminarWednesday 16th June 2010

Savannah Hotel

Building Partnerships for

Fighting Bid rigging

Fair Trading Commission

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Working Together

The Commission and Procurement agencies should work together as the way forward

Each agency has a role to play

Incorporate partnerships with other procurement agencies

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The Role of the Procurement Agency

Maintain procurement records – record information pertaining to characteristics of past tenders (e.g., the product purchased, each participant’s bid, the identity of the winner etc.) Review tender history periodically, especially in susceptible

industries, look for patterns Be aware of bid-rigging patterns and warning signs Keep bid documents, correspondence, envelopes

Do not alert the business or discuss with suspected participants May result in the destruction of evidence In some cases the conduct may be completely coincidental and

quite rational3

Identify specific contacts in your organisation

Some jurisdictions conduct interviews with 1)vendors who no longer offer supply and 2) Unsuccessful vendors

Think about whether to proceed with tender

Contact the Competition Authority

The Role of the Procurement Agency (continued)

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The Role of the CommissionAvailability and Accessibility –

The commission will always seek to make itself available for any queries, tips

InvestigateThe Fair Trading Commission is the agency responsible for

investigating suspected cases of bid riggingSection 13 and Section 35 of the Fair Competition Act

CAP326CUnder these sections the Commission could launch an

investigation regarding bid-rigging

Educate procurement officials Make them more aware and enable them to easily detect

signs of bid-rigging Sharing literature and also through training

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The success of building partnerships

Other jurisdictions have implemented this partnership programmeCanada – trained over 3000 procurement officialsIreland – Irish Competition Authority Road Show

and bookletChile – Interagency Taskforce for Fighting Bid

rigging Finland – Public Sector PartnershipU.S – Public Outreach Programme

All jurisdictions have reported significant increases in tips about bid rigging, bid rigging inquiries and investigations

The US has also reported fewer criminal prosecutions regarding bid rigging6

Public Procurement SeminarJune 16th 2010

Fair Trading CommissionGood Hope, Green Hill, St. Michael

info@ftc.gov.bb

246-424-0260

LET US WORK TOGETHER AND

Build Partnerships for

Fighting Bid rigging

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