26 Sep 2024

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and United States of America Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) have signed a Grant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth over P17 million (USD1.3 million) to strengthen compliance and enforcement mechanism of the public procurement laws, rules, processes and procedure in Botswana through Global Procurement Initiative (GPI).

In his welcome remarks at the signing ceremony on Wednesday, PPRA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lucas Kennekae said the grant was a technical assistance for Procurement Code of Conduct and enforcement mechanisms for procurement officials.

Additionally, Mr Kennekae said the grant was also a technical assistance for enforcement mechanism for government contractors, compliance monitoring and reporting, as well as training of procurement officials and contractors on international best practice. He, therefore, expressed delight that MoU marked a positive trajectory towards full enforcement of the Public Procurement Act and Regulations.

“Our relationship with the USTDA dates as far back as March 5, 2014, when the inaugural MoU was signed between the erstwhile board and Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board. The MoU was later reviewed every three years,” he said.

The grant, he said was also aimed at capacitating PPRA staff, procurement units at various ministries, parastatals, land boards and local authorities in integrating best value procurement considerations in the public procurement system to achieve optimum results from procurement processes.

Since the initial signing of the MoU, Mr Kennekae said there has been meaningful collaborations between PPRA and USTDA geared towards operationalisation of the GPI and strengthening procurement capacity of the procurement entities and the public procurement regulatory authority.

For her part, Botswana US Embassy deputy chief of Mission, Ms Allyson Algeo said explained that USTDA launched the Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI) in 2013 to share best practices and provide training of officials in emerging markets about how to establish value-based procurement practices and policies that integrated life-style cost analysis and best-value determination in a fair and transparent manner.

USTDA and its GPI country partners, Ms Algeo said were committed to the following principles; integrating life-style cost analysis and best value determination into tenders, promotion of fair and transparent international competition and the long-term professionalisation of the procurement work force.

The international best practices shared by the GPI, she said “focus on how to obtain the greatest value for public funds to foster sustainable infrastructure development and increase international competition.”

“Creating a fair and level playing field for all companies competing in public tenders is a key focus of the programme,” she added.

The GPI, Ms Algeo said signed its third MoU with the government of Botswana, through the PPRA, in September 2022, also adding that the grant was meant to enhance compliance codes, regulations and procedures in conformity with the Public Procurement Act of 2021.

When it came into effect in April 2022, she said the Public Procurement Act of 2021 modernised the country’s public procurement system by allowing greater flexibility in procurement to utilise competitive  negotiations, value-for-money considerations, decentralising procurement operations to line ministries and creating a new oversight body in the PPRA. ENDS