PPADB to review citizen empowerment policy
Isaac Pinielo | Friday February 17, 2017 11:07
The policy centres around national capacity building where citizens participate actively in strategic socio-economic decisions.
Last week, the Board said it is in the process of commissioning a consultancy to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy, particularly as it relates to the procurement aspect.
“The board wishes to establish whether the implementation of the policy, as it relates to its mandate, is achieving desired results,” said Bridget John, executive chairperson of PPADB. The consultancy is expected to be completed during the 2017/18 financial year with recommendations to make empowerment through procurement more effective.
As the national tender board, PPADB is charged with promoting citizen empowerment through the proactive implementation of schemes to enhance citizen participation in economic activities.
John stated that the board and its committees, in vetting tender documents, need to ensure that the requirements of the CEE policy are taken on board by procuring entities.
While the policy emphasises the preference for local companies to encourage citizen to partake in development activities, citizen participation in major economic activities and opportunities is still lagging behind. Meanwhile, the executive chairperson indicated the implementation of the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) is generally progressing well across ministries.
“Some projects in various ministries under the programme have been completed and are being utilised by the beneficiaries who are the general public,” she said. John also said ESP projects that are awarded are either ongoing or completed include among others customary court offices, classrooms, teacher accommodation, land servicing, expansion of educational facilities, village electrification and Internet connectivity. “Most roads projects are at design stage. Most of the ESP tenders are being progressed at Ministerial Tender Committee level,” she said.