28 Apr 2021

The proposed public procurement legislature is expected to address the general public outcry about inefficiency in public service delivery, says senior assistant accountant general, Ms Tebogo Tomango.

Ms Tomango told a virtual North West District special full council meeting that members of the public have, for a long time, decried delays in service delivery posed by public procurement policy.

She informed councillors that the reform was prompted by inefficiencies in public procurement; bureaucratic structures contributing to significant delays in procurement and project implementation in the country, lack of capacity in contract management, among others.

She said when analysing the root cause of the challenges, it came to the fore that people were not competent enough to do procurement, hence the proposed law, which she believes would build public confidence and ensure all activities undertaken were in the best interest of the nation.

Ms Tomango explained that the objective of the review was to have a single procurement law, which would ensure efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.

She also revealed that they had proposed that procurement be done by professionals, to ensure transparency and enhance service delivery, adding that they would be guided by procurement principles, which include efficiency; fairness, competition among suppliers and public confidence.

Through the law, she said they expected to enhance citizen economic empowerment and promote domestic production base, thus reducing the import bill and creating employment opportunities.

Ms Tomango said Botswana would be in a position to grow the economy in some targeted sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.

The director of procurement in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Peter Sebolao concurred that the reform would harmonise the way organisations do public procurement.

He said the reform would also take into consideration the Local Economic Development (LED) and decentralisation for Batswana to benefit irrespective of where they were.

Presenting on the proposed key reforms, Mr Sebolao noted that the Local Authorities Procurement and Asset Disposal (LAPAD) Act would be repealed, while the asset disposal would be moved to the Public Finance Management.

The amendments to the Public Procurement Asset Disposal (PPAD) Act, he said, shall apply to all entities that receive public funding.

He said they would also establish a board as a regulatory body, whose role would be to enforce procurement compliance; to provide for the strengthening of oversight over parastatal organisations, local authorities, land boards, NGOs and government contributory schemes.

Mr Sebolao also noted that tender committees would be replaced by a fully-fledged procurement oversight unit to be manned by procurement professionals, who advise the accounting officers on procurement matters.

He also informed councillors that the reform had proposed the establishment of a procurement tribunal to enhance legal capacity and ensure expeditious resolution of tender appeals or disputes.

He also shared that the proposed new amendments would promote development of citizen entrepreneurship, citing that there would be a standard pricing for small, micro and medium enterprises in public tenders, where government would provide a reserve price.

In addition, he said there would be rotation of suppliers to ensure that more local companies benefit from public procurement to build local capacity, in line with the Economic Diversification Drive strategy.

Some councillors welcomed the reform, saying it would be a solution to some irregularities in the tendering process. They also concurred that there was indeed a public outcry about the public procurement system, which they believe the reform would answer.

Thev councillors also complained about delays in project implementation and delivery, which ended up attracting cost overruns and commended the proposal for having a clause seeking to de-list or suspend some contractors from tendering. ENDS