Lawmakers trigger alarm on acquisition of goods and services bill

Several lawmakers raised questions regarding the amendments to legislation governing the acquisition of goods and services by the government in discussion at the plenary session at the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday.
The lawmakers expressed concern over the fact that the proposed amendment only changes the ceiling amount for which acquisitions from government departments and services need to pass through written contracts and public tender by raising the ceiling six-fold.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, justified the amendment as a response to a need to update the existing regulations that date from the mid-1980s. The current laws, according to the Secretary, are severely outdated due to the increase in the value of the goods as well as materials, manpower, and services in general.
Lawmakers also expressed surprise that the amendment proposed by the government does not prompt any deeper changes in the system that has, on many occasions, been dubbed as inefficient due to the many loopholes that contribute to the waste of public money and lack of control over the spending by public services.
Lawmaker Leong Sun Iok was the first to raise such concerns, noting that the government’s public consultation on the matter back in 2018 gave rise to a series of recommendations that should have been addressed in the amendment.
“We were not expecting a change that can be used as a mechanism to jeopardize justice and fair competition. [However] we were expecting the government to introduce changes on the law to prevent acts of corruption and collusion,” Leong said.
Leong also questioned Secretary Lei’s explanation in his justification note that this law revision will occur in two different phases.
Following on Leong’s questions, Ella Lei added that the government needs to explain its decision to raise all the ceilings by six-fold, querying, “From where did this multiplier originate? The government needs to explain why [it opted for] six-fold and not more or less. How was this calculation made?”
As with Leong, Lei also noted that the public consultation raised issues such as a lack of transparency in the system and lack of criteria in the evaluation of the proposal, among others – problems that the government seems to have ignored.
“I think we need a complete [revamp of the] system to increase the transparency and also find ways to classify the candidates. We also need to improve the disciplinary system. [The proposed amendment] seems to be the easy way [to approach the problem] by just updating the amounts [from which acquisitions need to pass through a strict process],” Lei said. Lei further added, “I think we are losing an opportunity to update the system and increase the transparency and the procedures at large.”
Similar issues were raised by lawmakers Agnes Lam, Ip Sio Kai, Mak Soi Kun, Sulu Sou, José Pereira Coutinho, Ng Kuok Cheong, and Au Kam San. Mak was the only lawmaker to express the view that the six-fold increase seemed insufficient when taking into account the general price hike over the past 30 years. According to his calculations, the prices of goods and services have risen by at least ten-fold or possibly more.
In the reply, Lei explained that the government has a regime to scrutinize the process before and after and that all government departments must issue mid-term reports on their spending.
The Secretary noted that the six-fold multiplier was decided upon after a “comprehensive consideration” of the gross domestic product as well as variation in the price of products and services between the late 1980s and up to the present (among other factors), concluding, “After this weighing, we understood that this is most adequate raise.”
The director of the Financial Services Bureau, Stephen Iong, explained that the six-fold multiplier would reduce, by about 80%, the need to establish complex processes for the acquisition of goods and services, facilitating the process, and contributing towards a quicker and more effective performance of the public services.
Lawmakers Ng and Au expressed more concerns after the government’s reply, noting frequent problems of people breaching the law on acquisition of goods and services on a daily basis, and that the inspection mechanism has already proven to be inefficient.
“The reply of the Secretary is more worrying,” said Au, adding, “From the trial of former Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Ao Man Long [who was sentenced for corruption and money laundering], we got to know many schemes that were often used to avoid these inspections and scrutiny. We need a complete amendment to the law. This [amendment] is going to create new loopholes for people to breach the law.”
In the voting that followed the debate, the bill was passed in its first reading with 25 votes in favor, four against (Sulu Sou, Pereira Coutinho, Ng Kuok Cheong, and Au Kam San) and two abstaining (Leong Sun Iok and Ella Lei). However, several other lawmakers called for a better clarification from the government during the analysis that will follow at the AL Standing Committee.

Second phase next year
After insistence from many lawmakers, the Secretary finally announced that the second phase of amendments to the laws that regulate public acquisitions will come as early as next year.
Lei justified the need to delay “more profound changes” with ongoing economic activities that can be negatively influenced by this change, as well the need to dedicate more time to consider the matter.
He also noted the need to understand how the local rules link with other similar international regulations.
“We expect the second phase to be presented next year. This amendment is to accelerate the process,” he said, hinting that the fact that this legislative term will end later this year also contributes to the separation of the amendments into two sections to allow the first one to still be approved and enter into force within the current term.

Proposal to debate ‘Penha Hill’ voted down

A proposal by lawmaker Sulu Sou to discuss the preservation and protection of the Penha Hill landscape, as well as the visual corridors to the coastline, was voted down by a significant majority of lawmakers at the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday.
The proposal comes following the government’s decision to build two government buildings in the Nam Van Lake Zones C and D, which, according to the lawmaker, will affect the landscape and the visibility for the Penha Hill and the Our lady of Penha chapel, which is a UNESCO protected heritage site.
The proposal for a debate only gathered five votes in favor: Sou, José Pereira Coutinho, Ng Kuok Cheong, Au Kam San, and Agnes Lam.
Agreeing with the proposal, Coutinho addressed the plenary to say that the fact the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) recently launched a consultation on the final drafts of the buildings is proof that some government departments do not take into account the wishes of the population and therefore abuse their power and authority so as to make decisions according to what they want. He further claimed that he did not understand the roles of DSSOPT and Cultural Affairs Bureau in this process.
Voicing a contrary opinion were lawmakers Wu Chou Kit and Iau Teng Pio, who noted that the government has already fulfilled all the legal requirements of the projects and that both public and professional opinions were taken into account and even led to changes in the projects, namely a reduction in the total height of the buildings.
Wu added that the matter had already been broadly and sufficiently discussed at the Urban Planning Committee and a consensus had already been reached. RM