BEST PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND REDRESSING THE MAJOR CONSTRAINT OF PROCUREMENT FOR EFFECTIVE RESEARCH WORK IMRAN CONTEH PROCUREMENT OFFICER, SLARI

OUTLINE Introduction Basic principles of procurement Strategic vision Mission statement Procurement and supply in SLARI’s strategic plan Public procurement Act 2004 Procurement process Procurement methods Delay and quality issues Conclusion

INTRODUCTION  Government cannot provide services to the people without engaging in procurement. This makes public procurement big business.  Public procurement contract represent a major share of any country’s GDP and public expenditure budget.  Most of the major corruption are associated with procurement

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PROCUREMENT  The overriding objectives of a country’s procurement system is to deliver efficiency and value for money in the use of public funds while adhering to national laws and policies  Maximizing economy, efficiency, and effectiveness  Promoting integrity and fairness  Increasing transparency and accountability  Conflict of interest  Ethical principle  Business gift etc.

STRATEGIC VISION “Improved and sustainable broad-based agricultural growth”. MISSION STATEMENT “To enhance sustainable productivity, commercialization and competitiveness of the agricultural sector through generation and promotion of innovative agricultural technologies and empowerment of stakeholders”.

Procurement and Supply in SLARI’s Strategic plan (page 68) The operation of the procurement and supply division are guided by clear procedures for procuring goods and services and disposal of unserviceable, obsolete or surplus stores and equipment by public entities in order to maximize efficiency, promote, competition, integrity, fairness, accountability, and transparency. In compliance with this, SLARI shall establish this division which is expected to contribute significantly to the attainment of the overall institutional mission through timely procurement and supply of goods and services at the right quantity, quality, time, price in accordance with existing government procurement and disposal procedures.

Public Procurement Act 2004 Being an Act to establish the NPPA, to regulate and harmonize public procurement processes in the public service, to decentralize public procurement to procuring entities, to promote economic development, including capacity building in the field of public procurement by ensuring value for money in public expenditures and the participation in public procurement by qualified suppliers, contractors, consultants and other qualified providers of goods, works, and services and to provide for other related matters.

what is Public Procurement? ‘Means the acquisition by any contractual means of goods, works, and services using public funds’. (PP Act, pg 6)

KEY TERMS IN THIS DEFINITION GOODS Means object of every kind and description including commodities, raw materials, products, and equipment, and objects in solid, liquid or gaseous form, and electricity as well as services incidental to the supply of the goods, if the value of those incidental services does not exceed that of the goods themselves. PUBLIC FUNDS Means any monetary resources of the state budget, or aid and credit under agreement with foreign donors, or extra budgetary resources of procuring entities, used in public procurement. (page 9) WORKS All works associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or renovation of a building, structure or works, such as site preparation, excavation, erection, building, installation of equipment or materials, decoration and finishing, as well as services incidental to construction such as drilling, mapping, satellite photography, seismic investigation and similar services provided pursuant to the contract, if the value of those services does not exceed that of the construction itself. (page 10)

PROCUREMENT METHODS  Open competitive bidding  National  International  Restricted bidding  Request for Proposals  Request for quotations  Sole source

Payment Award of Contract Receive and evaluate quotations Sourcing/ Market research Determine the procurement method Needs identification and assessment Develop technical Specification Delivery Disposal What do you want? Does it add value to SLARI? What is a Specification? Reasons for developing Specifications How to develop specification Based on the threshold Based on the urgency Availability of the item Competitive requirements Prequalification of Suppliers Procurement methods Problems with the use of proforma invoice Commercial responsiveness Technical compliance Price evaluation MEAT Required date and place of delivery Required quantity GRN Required Specification Invoice Delivery note Stock record card Agreement/ LPO Transfer Sale by public bid to the highest bidder Sale by auction Destruction

DELAY ISSUES PROCUREMENT PLANNING It is commonly known that “failure to plan is planning to fail” Though procurement planning is a legal requirement, lack of it is still a major cause of inefficiency It will lead to: Artificial emergency procurement Failure to absorb allocated fund Application of inappropriate method Circumvention of legal and regulatory procedures TIMELY SUBMISSION OF REQUIREMENTS Requirements must be submitted long before the required date of delivery to allow the use of the appropriate method of procurement Must reasonably be able to determine when an item needs to be repaired or replaced eg tyres

QUALITY ISSUES SPECIFICATION Goods must be clearly specified Goods must serve its purpose TESTING Should be tested TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENT Warranty/ Guarantee ISO standards

CONCLUSION An effective public procurement practice plays a strategic role in governments for avoiding mismanagement and waste of public funds.

I Thank You ALL