Judex Okoro, Calabar

The Federal Government through the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has condemned the poor procurement practices of its ministries, departments and agencies.

According to BPP, the  practice has robbed it of vital data which is needed for proper planning and development.

Speaking at a Procurement Retreat for Federal Permanent Secretaries held in Calabar at the weekend,  the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Surveyor Mamman Ahmad, disclosed that government placed the performance of its MDA’s for last year at an unacceptable rate of below 50%.

Ahmad said he hopes to correct that anomaly in the 2018 fiscal year by laying emphasis on procurement planning and conducting a procurement surveillance to monitor implementation.

He further said the government through the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) would not issue a “Certificate of No Objection” for projects that are not found in the procurement plans submitted by the MDA’s

 “The refusal of the MDA’s to comply with the statutory requirements for a procurement plan has overtime denied the bureau of vital data that inhibits its capacity to conduct adequate planning.

 “Some MDA’s do not adhere to procurement planning procedures and have not performed very well; the highest performance which is 50% is not good enough.  MDA’s are expected to adhere to procurement planning requirements because we want resources to be spent for the good of all.

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 “Capital expenditures is going downwards while recurrent expenditures is going upwards and so we are looking forward to a reversal of that this fiscal year through procurement planning,” he stated.

Ahmad, who said the retreat is aimed at equipping the permanent secretaries so they can deliver inline with beat practices, reminded the participants that non-submission of procurement plans attracts 5 years imprisonment as well as dismissal from service in line with section 58 (4) (h) of the Public Procurement Act.

In her remarks, the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Eyo Ita,  enjoined civil servants to stand firm by ensuring application of due process  by individuals and institutions.

She emphasized that the procurement processes for 2018 is a platform to show that it is no longer business as usual with regard to public procurement in the country.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement, Senator Joshua Dariye, called for total collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure optimum results in the nation’s public procurement practices.

He maintained that the public procurement act was aimed at ensuring spread in projects and flayed the practice of recycling contractors in project procurement in the country.

He called for collaboration with the media and NGO’s, as the public procurement act of 2007 specifies a role for them.