The Government is prepared to debate the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2023 during an extraordinary sitting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, speaking during an interview on I95.5FM on Tuesday afternoon, said the Government is not going to seek a Special Majority.
Referring to the recent rupture of a 48-inch water main in East Trinidad, the Prime Minister said the Amendments to the Procurement Bill will facilitate exigencies.
The Prime Minister said another urgent matter is amending the legislation to include small and medium contractors. He said there are approximately 100,000 companies that provide a service to the Government of one kind or another and so far, only 8,000 companies are registered with the Office of Procurement Regulation.
Dr. Rowley said this will mean the registered companies will be outside of the benefit of competition.
The Prime Minister said the Government will be very happy if the Opposition sees it fit to support the Amendments to the Procurement Bill.