- 6 Marks
Question
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Coaltar District Assembly on his appointment has no knowledge in public financial management, including public procurement. Prior to his appointment, he was an ardent listener of the proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, and he realized that most heads of departments were often blamed for not using the competitive tendering process in procurement.
On assumption of office, he gave a strong directive that all procurements in the Assembly should go through a competitive tendering process and that not even a pesewa purchase should take place outside this directive. He insisted that public procurement should produce value for money.
Required:
As the District Finance Officer (DFO) of Coaltar District Assembly,
i) Write a memorandum to the new District Chief Executive explaining THREE circumstances under which the directive will not be appropriate. (3 marks)
ii) Suggest any other THREE methods of procurement that may be appropriate and lawful in the absence of a competitive tendering process. (3 marks)
Answer
MEMO
DATE: xx/xx/xx
TO: District Chief Executive
FROM: District Finance Officer
SUBJECT: Re-Directives on Procurement Methods in the Assembly
I write to you some concerns I have about your new directive on public procurement in the assembly. I agree that competitive tendering ensures value for public moneys through competition and fairness. The Procurement Act 663 also emphasizes the importance of the competitive tendering in securing judicious use of public resources in public procurement. However, the current directive will not be appropriate in all circumstances.
i) Circumstances under which competitive tendering will not be appropriate:
- Diseconomy in procurement where cost incurred in procurement far exceeds the value of the goods, services, and works procured. This is normally the case with low-value goods and services in which case alternative method will have been appropriate.
- Impracticability of the directive where there is only one or few supplier or contractor for the goods, services, and works.
- Where there is a time constraint due to urgency or catastrophic event, competitive tendering may cause undue delay.
- Competitive tendering will not be appropriate when national security is at stake.
- It is also not appropriate when it is not feasible for the procurement entity to formulate detailed specifications for the goods, services or works.
(Any 3 points for 3 marks)
ii) Other methods allowed by the Procurement Act in absence of competitive tendering include:
- Two-stage tendering
- Restricted tendering
- Single sourcing
- Request for quotation
Thank you.
(Any 3 points for 3 marks)
- Topic: Public Procurement
- Series: NOV 2017
- Uploader: Sarah