Ibrahim Brima Swarray, NPPA CEO and Jusu Lamin, Financial Secretary
By Ralph Sesay
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA), Mr. Brima Swarray, has introduced the use of Price Norms for the procurement of good and services for Quarter 3 of the financial year for all Ministries, Agencies and Departments and all other areas that government has financial interest.
The official launch of the Price Norms was done by the Financial Secretary, Mr. Jusu Lamin, on behalf of the Minister and Deputy Ministers of Finance at the Conference Room of the Ministry, George Street in Freetown.
The NPPA Chief noted that the introduction of the Price Norms is a guide to the market prices of commonly used items by MDAs and Local Councils. This, he emphasized, will serve as a guide for the respective MDAs in planning and also developing their respective procurement plans. He cautioned procurement officers and MDAs to strictly go by these Price Norms as the Authority will not tolerate any institution that will expend government money in the usual manner of giving bloated prices in the procurement of goods and services.
The NPPA Chief told the news conference that they are pleased, as an Authority, to have accomplished this land mark venture which, according to him, is a statutory requirement in the life cycle of the Authority.
‘’We are all aware of the stark reality that public procurement takes the highest share of Government spending. So, any move in the direction of achieving the value for money, transparency, competitiveness and uniformity in the way goods are purchased; which are all key deliverables in his Excellency’s vision to place this country on a sound and robust fiscal footing…,’’ the NPPA Chief noted.
Mr. Swarray reminded procurement officers that the effective control of the procurement process in the country will drastically reduce the leakages and faulty procurement, which has been the order of the day. He encouraged procurement officers to use the price norms alongside the price indices which truly reflect an increase or decrease in prices at a given time but that percentages should not exceed 10 % variance.
He encouraged his colleagues in the procurement entity to help the current government cut down on the excessive leakages inherent in the procurement process in the country as, according to him, the sector accounts for over 70% of government expenditures. Curtailing such leakages will create less or no work for the Auditor General’s office and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Mr. Swarray further disclosed that the Authority will use the five year Auditor General’s Report as a benchmark towards creating sanity in the process.
“We will no longer allow MDAs to change the rules in the middle of the game. We will monitor all procurement process from the bidding stage to finish,” the NPPA Chief stated.
He concluded by appealing to the government, through the Financial Secretary, to improve on the salaries of practicing procurement officers who, he referred to as professionals, can do it better if given the correct remuneration.
The Financial Secretary, Mr. Jusu Lamin, who deputizes the Minister and Deputy Ministers of Finance at the launching ceremony, noted that they, at the Ministry, fully support the drive by the NPPA Chief Executive to create sanity in the procurement sector which, according to him, accounts for a huge chunk of government budgetary expenditure. He disclosed that the drive is inline with the vision of the President and the New Direction.
Mr. Jusu called on procurement officers in the respective MDAs to provide well documented professional advice to their respective procurement committees and the ministers at every stage of the procurement processes. He noted that moving forward they will not entertain excuses from procurement officers when things go wrong.
The Financial Secretary admonished them to use the prescribed price norms on a quarterly basis as a guide in putting together their procurement plans. He noted that defaulting procurement officers who consistently flout the price norms will be brought to book.
The New Direction will, he noted, will no longer entertain duty waivers and tax exemptions, disclosing that government, over the last few years, has lost billions of dollars to these waivers and tax exemptions, which, according to him, should have gone towards other development programs.
The Financial Secretary concluded by calling on the procurement officers to also pay attention to the issue of overseas travelling which, he noted, has also accounted for huge wastage of state resources over the last few years.
He assured procurements officers that their conditions of service will be looked into as requested by the NPPA Chief if they are able to drastically reduce the leakages in the procurement sector.
Mr. Musa, Director Procurement Directorate, Ministry of Finance, told procurement officers that there will be no hiding place as he has an experience of over 13 years in the policy aspect of the procurement sector. He informed the conference that he will strongly support the NPPA to ensure that government gets value for money.
He encouraged procurement officers that their security is assured with the new administration as they will no longer be victimized or transferred unnecessarily because of doing the correct thing. The Director urged his colleagues to bring up their challenges in the work place to either the NPPA or the Directorate and they will be addressed appropriately.
Various observations, clarifications and comments were made by different procurement officers present with regards the price norms, such as whether the Authority has an electronic platform to quickly review bidding documents on time, considering the fact that there are over 35 MDAs.