The Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) held a three-day training on Public Procurement Act for thirty-five procurement personnel drawn from various government departments and private sectors.
Held
at the EMPRETEC office in Bakau, the training was funded by the EU and
implemented by WYG international consultancy in collaboration with GPPA.
Speaking
at the opening ceremony, Lamin K. Barrow, Manager Cardiac Development and Training at GPPA, said that procurement is a very dynamic
field, hence it need to be guided by strong capacity building in order to be in
line with the international best practices.
He said the need for such training was very
important, considering the amount of money involved in the procurement of goods
and services, as it constitute a greater proportion of government budget.
Mr
Barrow said this was the third training that GPPA has been conducting with the
procurement officers of government departments and private sector.
He
said the training focuses on the hiring of consultancy services, the
information require for procurement officers as well as procurement related to
consultancy services.
The
aim was to provide the participants with the relevant information that would
give operation at their respective department more responsive, he said.
For
her part, Mariama Touray Bojang, a participant from the Ministry of
Agriculture, said the training was very interactive as they learn a lot about
the procurement system.
Jimmy
Ameny from Uganda, a public procurement specialist working with the GPPA, said
the training aim at exposing the participants on how to hire consulting
services in compliance with the public procurement guidelines.
