By Mohamed Fofanah.
The National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) has announced plans to transform public procurement processes to electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system, as part of Government efforts to enhance fairness, transparency and seek value for money in procurement process across the sector.
The system will be piloted later this year in two key ministries: the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education before it will be subsequently rolled out to other Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the country, according to the Chief Executive of NPPA.
Speaking at a stakeholdersโ sensitization campaign in Freetown yesterday, Ibrahim Brima Swaray noted that the usual manual procurement processes still fall short to issues of efficiency, transparency and fairness, stressing that the introduction of the e-GP will help protect the countryโs meager resources from drowning in the sector and help to judiciously expend them.
He added that the new system will also be used by Auditors to do their work while barring procurement officers from starting work on their own timeline rather than the stipulated time, without changing the procurement laws of the country.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Brima Swaray implored procurement professionals to ensure fairness and transparency in the procurement processes, saying that it is a fight in the interest of the country and its meager resources.
According to the Acting Director of Procurement, Public Procurement Directorate in the Ministry of Finance, Fodie J. Konneh, the automated electronic procurement system will enhance flexibility, accountability, competition, and access to procurement information at no cost.
