PPADB new strategy to eliminate conflicting roles
Boitshepo Majube | Thursday December 5, 2013 17:52
Amongst the conflicting roles the PPADB undertakes are procurement processing (tender vetting and adjudication), serving as an appeals body, and playing an oversight role.
PPADB Executive Chairperson Bridget John said at the launch of the strategy that the organisation aims to resolve the issues in the current plan through a staged process of devolution at the beginning of the plan period, and transformation to a regulatory authority, subject to the approval of government.
“The strategy is to transition in stages by increasing procurement budget adjudicated by Ministries from 40% of the budget to 80% in 2016 and to 100 in 2018,” John said.
She stated that the full transition where PPADB will cease to be responsible for tender awards will be dependent on the amendment of the PPADB Act.
“The transition will be incremental to ensure that ministries are ready for transformation,” she said.
John said the PPADB strategy was adopted after analysis of past performance, strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and stakeholder analysis.
She stated that the analysis demonstrated that to be successful, the PPADB should be able to tackle a number of factors with boldness and resilience.
“Some of the factors are within PPADB’s direct control while others are externally influenced and dependent on the review of the PPADB Act and the response of Procurement Entities (PEs) and ministries,” she said.
John said the strategy will help PPADB to attain a high performance culture.
“PPADB seeks to be a centre of excellence that is driven by a culture of high performance and customer service,” she said.
She said the organisation seeks to attract and retain staff which will befit an advisory and regulatory structure which has great influence in the delivery of the government procurement and asset disposal.
She further noted that a strong performance management system would drive this culture, as leadership and HR processes that attract and nurture talent.
Concerning capacity building, John stated that the readiness and capacity of the ministries for the transformation is an important factor for consideration.
“Systematic assessment of Procurement Entities’ (PEs) capacity will be conducted to determine their level of growth on a maturity continuum (risk or readiness level),” she said.
She added that the PPADB would also be strengthening its capacity to evolve into a regulatory authority that is strong in setting standards, monitoring compliance and capacity building.