Gov't urged to address procurement and operational inefficiencies amid issues affecting JamaicaEye

By Kimone Witter    

 

The Government's procurement process has come in for criticism from a Jamaica based technology group following the revelation that there are challenges with the maintenance of closed circuit television cameras under the JamaicaEye programme.

 

The Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance (JTDA) says the government's preference for the lowest bid often undermines the quality and long-term value of projects and has called for urgency in addressing inefficiencies in procurement and operational practices.

 

Last week, National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang confirmed that a significant number of cameras on the JamaicaEye surveillance network were not operational due to a maintenance problem.

 

Dr. Chang added that no one in the country had an effective islandwide technology maintenance system.

 

But in a statement, JTDA President Almando Cox said, while the organisation recognises the complexity of maintaining such a critical national security asset, there are several key obstacles hindering the effectiveness of the initiative.

 

Mr. Cox said among the hindrances is the focus on Lowest Bids versus Value-Driven Procurement; payments in Jamaican dollars; delays in the procurement process and lagging payment schedules.

 

He said a pain point for many companies is the delayed payments which stifle cash flow for small and medium enterprises. 

 

"How many of us get 90 days credit from our vendors? And that's kind of the average payment schedule that we get from many of our providers. So what you find happening here is that these challenges are actually a disincentive if you wish for our members and ICT providers to participate. Obviously, small organisations cannot afford that kind of, let's call it, buffer to be waiting for payment and so forth. So you find the net effect, people decide...which one they're going to go after, for which government, or they just don't do it, unfortunately," he sought to explain. 

 

He said if these issues were addressed, more companies would be motivated to participate. 

 

The Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance has put forward what it says are practical solutions to improve the technical approach to JamaicaEye's maintenance.

 

Mr. Cox said establishing a clear Standard Operating Procedure to cover the standard the government is seeking to maintain could go a far way in ensuring efficiency.

 

He has also suggested Collaborative Financing Models for Bucket Trucks and establishing maintenance zones across the island. 

 

"You could have one bucket truck or two, depending on the amount of cameras and locations to be serviced. And maybe that's where you'd have more people, you know, pull from this directory that we have of service providers. Encourage them, empower them to participate. If you have a lot more people available to you, at your disposal, to contribute to the improvement of national security, that only can be a win. So the encouragement here is to let's have a conversation. Definitely, we'll be reaching out to have that conversation. Let's collaborate on something that is important to all of us and bigger than all of us, that point of national security," he proposed.