Kaduna procurement law: Implementers undergo 3-day contents understanding training
Key implementers of recently passed Kaduna State Public Procurement Law (PPL) 2016 currently undergoing a 3- day rigorous training on better understanding of the contents of the law slated between 1st and 4th December 2017.
The Public Procurement Law (PPL) of Kaduna State was enacted in 2016 as a framework of law that governs how government contracts would be executed in the state. It sets procedure for conducting award processes.
Speaking at a 3-day sensitization workshop on the better understanding of the contents of the PPL by Kaduna State key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and service delivery partners at a hotel in Kano over the weekend, a Public Procurement Expert and Law Lecturer, Barrister Kinsley Tochi Ude told Daily Sun that, the law was transparent enough to all beneficiaries including the contractors and the public.
According to him, apart from building the confidence of contractors in the state government’s projects, it would also afford the public the opportunity to know what project has been awarded in their community and the contractor handling it thereby given room for monitoring.
He noted that, if the law is followed, public services that will be provided would be of high quality at competitive price and save cost unlike when there was no such law when anything goes quickly added that, that would make more money available for the state government to execute more people oriented projects.
On the issue of transparency he said, “PLL of Kaduna State has already made provision for how procurement should be done. It provides for open competitive bidding as default procurement. This in the sense that, procurement opportunity and intended government project will first be advertised.
“So, anyone with capacity and interest can submit bid. Now, bids will be submitted in sealed envelopes and tampered-proof boxes that cannot be accessed until the day of bid opening which will be done in public glance”, he hinted.
Pioneer Director General, Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority (KADPPA), Thomas Gyang said, Effect of the PPL with the office was that, it has provided a wider spectrum of areas of coverage and framework that would enable the performance of responsibilities without undue influence from outside.
Represented at the event by his Technical Assistant on Procurement, Barde Danjuma, the DG said, the PPA has two documents it has been operating almost simultaneously from the inception of the law.
“We had been operating edicts that established the Bureau of Budget Implementation and Price Intelligence. And that gave us a foothold to be able to capitalise on the law that now came and authority that is invested by the law on the public procurement”, he said.
Kaduna State Team Leader, DFID Partnership to Engage, Reform and Lean (PERL), the organizer of the workshop, Abel Adejor noted that, the law has since taken effect in the state with many transitions already implemented.
“To achieve a smooth and full implementation of the law, the KADPPA with support from the DFID Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL) organised this training for procurement officers at MDAs and other partners in service delivery”, he said.
Earlier in an address, Chairman, House Committee on Due Process and SDGs, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Markus Zarmai Yari said, the training was essential especially to the assembly that has work hard to come up with a law to make government effective.
“We supported the law and that was why we worked very hard to domesticate it. All the MDAs are expected to have a public procurement unit because we want transparency. We need to get ourselves and public acquainted to the new law. We need to know how to explain it to the public how to make public procurement.
“Like I said, we at the KSHA have painstakingly took the bull by the horns to make this law. We understand the fact that we will not be there forever but our state will be there. So, even if the law is already passed, it is not rigid that is, any necessary adjustments can still be taken”, he said.
The workshop has in attendance the representatives of KSHA, MDAs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working around governance and the media.
POSTED BY EDITOR