Govt tightens local procurement guidelines
Isaac Pinielo | Tuesday September 29, 2015 18:00
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry while some procurement entities purchase their goods and services from local providers, others continue to import some of the products that can be sourced locally. The ministry stated that in some cases procurement entities specify brand names in the tendering, while those products are locally available, competitively priced and meeting tender requirements.
Failure to comply with the EDD initiative requirements has partly been attributed to enterprise constraints such as unreliable supplies, poor quality of products, uncompetitive prices as well as low range of products available in the local market, said the ministry.
The ministry further stated that the government also realised that some local manufacturers and service providers as well as agricultural producers have adequate capacities to produce quantities and the requisite quality to meet the needs of the local market.
As a result, the government has issued a directive which requires that all central government, local authorities and parastatal organisations must purchase locally produced goods and services from locally based manufacturers, service providers and agricultural producers.
In line with the directive, procuring entities are required to seek authority from the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), its committees and Local Authorities Procurement and Asset Disposal (LAPAD) committees.
The ministry said this should be done accordingly as per the existing tender thresholds to procure products from other sources locally and/or outside the country where there is need and only in exceptional circumstances upon compelling justification being given.
In the case of parastatals, authority must be sought from their tender committees and parent ministries according to their existing thresholds while ensuring compliance to the directive, stated the ministry.
To implement the directive, the ministry constituted a task team comprising the PPADB and the high spending ministries, which held a workshop in March this year in order to evaluate the tendering process and come up with creative and innovative ways that will strengthen and increase the procurement of local goods and services including agricultural produce from local enterprises.