Gambia
Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) have recently trained its staff on
consultancy procurement review and management.
The
two-day training held at Baobab holiday resort in Bijilo, aimed to ensure the
value for money at work.
Juldeh
Ceesay, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Affairs said the average yearly expenditure on public procurement is about 60%
of the government’s overall 5 billion dalasis budget, adding that a transparent
public procurement process can easily save between 10 to 15% of the cost which
translates to about 500 million dalasis annually to the government.
She
said any training that will improve the capacity of GPPA management and staff
will undoubtedly have a great impact in ensuring value for money in budget
management in the country.
Mrs
Ceesay highlighted that with the recent developments in E-government
procurement, it is important that actors in the procurement field, especially
the staff and management of the Authority are capacitated.
She
expressed appreciation to the World Bank, African Development Bank and the
European Union for their support.
Director
general Abdoulie Tambedou said the public procurement Act of 2001 established
the GPPA as a government regulatory body mandated to regulate public
procurement system.
He
said the 2003 procurement regulations, GPPA Act 2014, and the 2019 regulations
are all geared towards improving transparency and making value for money in
public procurement.
Mr Tambedou told the participants that the
last year training has aided the National Assembly in their assessments of the
national budget during the financial year.