By Foday Moriba Conteh
On Thursday 16th July 2020, the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA), the country’s mandated institution that regulates procurement procedures relating to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), conducted a training for a cross section of the staff of the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC) on key national public procurement procedures.
According to the Deputy Director for Capacity Building at NPPA, Siaka Koroma, there is a need for constant review of procurement processes and procedures especially when cognizance is taken of their dynamic and ongoing nature. He disclosed how the objective of the training was to give staff a good idea of the process flow of procurement and the principles that guide the undertaking of procurement activities.
He went further to state that 45-50% of Government’s expense goes into procurement underscoring how therefore there is a need to do things the right way, get results and value for money.
The training concentrated on the use of the standard procurement forms (SPF forms) which included requisition, procurement committee decision, evaluation, final evaluation, RFQs and reporting forms and how each of those could be used in the beginning and end of any procurement cycle.
One of the beneficiaries of the training, Ms Isatu Bah stated that she found the training to be very useful as she imbibed skills such as the standard ways of the procurement process according to NPPA requirements, the need to consider not only the purchasing cost but the time, duration, recurring cost in the procurement process. Other skills learned included knowing the five R’s of Procurements (Right Place; Right quality; Right Quantity; Right Time; Right Price) etc.
In his remarks, the Director General of the Commission, Emmanuel Mannah, stated that the Commission’s request for the training was borne out of President Bio’s call for delivery in all areas and as such, the need for an in-depth training for procurement staff of the newly set up unit of the Commission in order that no one would be found wanting in the future.
