HUGE CAPACITY GAPS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

MBABANE - Huge capacity gaps and knowledge of public procurement are said to be existing in the country.

Due to the challenge, the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) is developing the Eswatini national public procurement capacity building strategy. ESPPRA is an independent regulatory Agency for public procurement in the country. ESPPRA says currently public procurement in the country is at its early reform stage and huge capacity gaps and knowledge of public procurement exists in the sector as well as in the country.

Since its establishment in 2013, the Agency has made strides in providing capacity building within the public entities with an effort to gradually professionalise the way public procurement is conducted. “However, the Agency still lacks a systematic approach or framework into implementing capacity building initiatives as well as professionalising the conduct of procurement from organisational to national level,” reads the invitation.

Public procurement in the country is conducted under the premise of the Public Procurement Act, 2011 and the Public Procurement Procedures 1, 2016 which are used to provide procurement guidelines for public entities in the absence of Regulations that are in line with the Act, 2011. However, some Central Government entities still conducting procurement guided by Procurement Regulations of 2008. As a result, the Agency seeks to develop a strategy that will assess the extent to which current capacity building vision and mission statements and set of values are aligned with the capacity needs and formulate,  design and  implement strategies and activities, action steps, agents of change, outcomes, indicators to build the capacity based on real commitments and prepare plan for tracking and reporting on capacity building outcomes.

The service provider will work closely with the Agency in strengthening the procurement processes and systems with a view to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public procurement within Government entities. The service provider is expected to conduct a detailed analysis of public procurement system of Eswatini to determine capacity needs and capacity development priorities and response. Another duty includes formulating a capacity building strategy with a clear implementation plan for strengthening public procurement.

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