I couldn't agree more. It seems like a systemic and cascading failure.
Your review found that in over 75% of the files, departments couldn't explain whether a set-aside was mandatory, voluntary or conditional. That's not a grey area. That's just a basic understanding of the program. Were you surprised by that level of non-compliance? The last time you were here, we discussed the issue of the training of the staff that oversees the contract process. You indicated at that time that just about all departments are not doing an adequate job on that front, and you repeated that today.
The second question is this: Is anybody listening to you, or are they simply ignoring your advice and recommendations and doing whatever they want to do because there are no hard consequences, as my friend pointed out earlier?