The government last night unveiled draft legislation representing a \u201cfundamental reset\u201d of its public procurement processes in a bid to save taxpayers millions and aid small businesses.<\/p>\n
Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance\u2019s acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business the long-awaited Public Procurement Bill 2019 was designed to produce better \u201cvalue for money\u201d through improved transparency and accountability surrounding the award of government contracts.<\/p>\n
Emphasising that it sought \u201cto discourage any ad hoc approach\u201d to the government\u2019s sourcing of goods and services, Mr Johnson said the Bill also seeks to make bidding on such contracts more equitable for Bahamian companies and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
Besides stipulating that all government agencies must award a minimum 10 percent of their contracts to Bahamian micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) businesses, Mr Johnson said the proposed legislation sets out a process where any aggrieved bidder can appeal a contract award via a newly-created Procurement Award Tribunal.<\/p>\n
The draft Bill, which has been released for a 30-day public consultation with interested parties, mandates that all government entities \u201cpromptly\u201d publish details of all contract awards, including the name of the winning bidder, the price and \u201cthe selection method\u201d used to choose them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a fundamental reset of the approach to procurement,\u201d Mr Johnson said of the draft Bill. \u201cPart of the research and development of this Procurement Bill was really to align it with international best practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us administratively, when you peruse the draft Bill, it involves the creation of a specific Public Procurement Department with the requisite expertise, and to have persons trained in procurement in the significant agencies \u2013 the ministries of works, health and education \u2013 that typically procure a large volume of goods and services.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a significant administrative change for us to ensure we have people that understand what procurement\u2019s about, and how to execute contracts at optimal value, analyse bids and get into the science of procurement. It\u2019s a significant management change\u2026. It tries to discourage any ad hoc approach to the procurement of goods and services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson said the Public Procurement Department, whose mission according to the Bill is to \u201cenhance economy, efficiency, transparency and due process in public procurement and the management of government resources\u201d, would be overseen by the Ministry of Finance and \u201cguide\u201d other ministries\/agencies in developing their own procurement plans.<\/p>\n
Besides setting uniform standards for public sector bidding processes and documents, the Bill also charges the Public Procurement Department with developing and managing the proposed electronic procurement system that the Government intends to create.<\/p>\n
This e-procurement system also involves establishing a supplier registry, and the Government yesterday said some 1,500 firms were already registered on its e-tender platform. The Public Procurement Department will also be in charge of \u201ccentralised\u201d bidding for goods and services used throughout the public sector, although awards of $10m or must be approved by Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, told Tribune Business there were specific provisions in the Bill to enhance the public sector\u2019s transparency and accountability to the Bahamian people by mandating the publication of regular reports on its procurement activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout all of this is the need to keep pristine records,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are requirements for the publication of awards and the publication of annual reports. It will be incumbent on us as public servants to ensure records are kept to allow for periodic reports and annual reports to keep the public informed of our procurement activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
While procurement officers were already in place at several ministries, the acting financial secretary said several may need to be \u201cupskilled and retrained\u201d to meet the demands of the new legislation. He added that it represented an opportunity for civil servants to gain promotion as the Government targets \u201ca model approach to procurement\u201d.<\/p>\n