Public Procurement Bill to be Tabled Shortly

A Bill to legislate the newly proposed Government public procurement regime is to be tabled in the House of Representatives shortly.

The new regime outlines a number of activities which have either been undertaken or are slated for implementation to strengthen the procurement process.

This was disclosed by Minister without Portfolio (Public Service), Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley, during his 2014/15 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 8, under the theme: ‘Consolidating the Gains towards Economic Growth Reform and Public Sector Modernization’.

Activities, which he said have been undertaken, thus far, include: the creation of a designated public procurement policy office in the Ministry of Finance and Planning; revision of the public procurement handbook; and the publication of a weekly public procurement page in the national newspapers.

Pending is the introduction of the electronic government procurement process; promulgation of a new procurement law; development of a new cadre of public procurement professionals; and development of a new regime for insurance placement in government.

Also proposed are: separation of the National Contracts Commission (NCC) from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG), and renaming the NCC the Public Procurement Commission; further revision of the approvals threshold; revision of emergency contracting procedures; establishment of a new contractor registration system; removal of the need for the Ministry’s comments on all contracts prior to approval; and establishment of a Public Appeals Board (PAB).

Mr. Dalley said the PAB will be established as an independent tribunal to adjudicate contractor complaints in a procurement process. He explained that this administrative body will “strengthen the integrity and transparency of the public procurement process.”

The Minister indicated that “our stakeholders, mainly the (Incorporated) Master Builders Association of Jamaica, have fully endorsed the new public procurement regime.”