29 Mar 2015

A review taken by PPADB on suppliers in various District Administration Tender Committees (DATC) covered public procurement and assert disposal benefit business in urban and peri-urban areas.

Addressing Gaborone full council meeting, public relations and education manager at PPADB, Ms Ditapole Chibua-Tsheboeng said there was need to promote opportunities for small and micro enterprises to fully participate in the procurement process to ensure growth of business.

Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng noted that the local procurement scheme aimed at enhancing the participation of the disadvantaged groups by creating a platform to participate in tenders and support poverty eradication initiatives. “The scheme also intends to close the gaps observed between the implementation of the LAPAD Act and PPADB Act at district level,” she said.

Section 19 (B) of 2013 provides for the localisation of some procurement activities by restricting or allowing preferential treatment for specified groups residing in rural areas, she added. Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng said the scheme dictated that preference be introduced in tenders falling within the financial threshold of the DATC which stands at P2 million.

The scheme, she added, covered various products and services that might be seasonal such as farm produce, short term tasks, small maintenance works and others.

Any tenders within the DATC threshold that is above the micro-procurement, she said, may be made open with preference margins favouring the target groups within a given DATC jurisdiction.

She advised Councilors to consider reserving 20 per cent of their budget for the procurement of goods and services in a given financial year from the target group, adding that the eligibility should be balanced between ownership, control and employment. “Preference margins should be applied accordingly in line with the set margins for ownership and control by women, youth and people with disability within rural areas,” she said.

Ms Chibua-Tsheboeng said that cumulative preference may be applied as follows, women and youth get 3 per cent, rural setting 3 per cent, employment 3 per cent and people with disability 3 per cent in order to allow for competition. She said the bidder who falls within the target group should be given the above outright 15 per cent price preference in the open tender. ENDS