IDB, the World Bank (IFC), may not support the ESET !

There are growing concerns that the Electricity Supply Enterprise Team  (ESET), which was formed by the Prime Minister , may not get any any support from the IDB or the IFC, which is the financial arm of the World Bank.

Readers may recall that the IDB refused to offer monetary support EWI due to the lack of transparency in the process used to select EWI, which has led to the collapse of that process.  The IDB had indicated the procurement rules were not followed and that they supported the position reached by the Office of the Contractor General, the OCG .

Now that the GOJ of Jamaica has formed a ESET, it is being view  as a way to circumvent the only legal authority in Jamaica , prescribed by Jamaican laws to handle the procurement process for any type of utility to come on stream in Jamaica.

The OUR is the ONLY constituted authority in Jamaica legally authorized to handle this matter and any move to circumvent this authority is being viewed as one that offers less transparency and also bypasses our procurement rules in the supply of electricity (utility).

This is the very reason the IDB had earlier sighted for its refusal to support EWI the last time around.

The World Bank and the IDB are not going to support any process that seeks to sideline the legal authority in any country for expediency, that is a fact. We therefore run the risk of allowing this ESET to run the procurement  process for which it has no legal authority and at the end of the process the IDB and IFC tells us ” sorry the ESET is not the legal authority in Jamaica and so we cannot lend any money to the winner of the bid, given the process lacked transparency”.

Are we willing to risk this once again and risk pushing back this power plant even further down the road, or should we tell the Prime Minister and her cabinet to scarp the ESET and allow the OUR to fulfill its mandate.

If Jamaicans sit back and allow this to happen, it will confirm that we not only inherently corrupt, but it it will set this country back at least another 5 years and no one will be interested in participating in this process ever.

Folks, let’s wake up and smell the coffee.

I have not been proven wrong yet on any pronouncements that I have made in relation to this project and I seriously doubt I will be proven wrong this time around.

Bless.