PPDA gets tough on accountants
Apr 28, 2011
THE Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) has warned accounting officers against signing contracts where the price quoted by the best evaluated bidder is higher than the market price.
By Aidah Nanyonjo
THE Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) has warned accounting officers against signing contracts where the price quoted by the best evaluated bidder is higher than the market price.
“Do not sign such contracts. If you pay that money knowingly, you will be forced to pay it back. Remember the process is long; it involves going to jail,†Milton Tumutegyereize, the PPDA director training and capacity building, warned.
He was recently speaking to the accounting officers from statutory bodies and commissions at the Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The workshop aimed at enhancing efficiency in public procurement and disposal.
Tumutegyereize noted that the authority had learnt that many entities had been awarding contracts to service providers at high costs above the market price.
“Value for money goes beyond the procurement process.It involves the price. You can give a contract to the lowest bidder but when the price is higher than the market price.
“That means we are not getting value for money. You are not saving,†he noted.
He advised them to cancel the whole procurement process, if the lowest bidder’s quotation is higher than the market price.
“If a ream of duplicating paper costs sh10,000 on the market, do not pay for sh15,000 because it is the lowest bidder’s quotation,†he added. Tumutegyereize said PPDA plans to come up with the average price list of common user commodities and supplies on the market to ensure that entities follow it when awarding tenders.
The list will be updated regularly basing on the demand and supply, he added.
PPDA already updates common user supplies for hospitals and schools.
The list will be extended to cover other items, Tumutegyereize said. Like other public sectors, the procurement industry is riddled with corruption and experts ask why it is so and how the vice can be wiped out.
In recent years, multiple corruption scandals have emerged, involving politicians and bureaucrats taking kickbacks from companies in exchange for public contracts.
Most procurement officers and a number of aides tend to award state contracts to companies which paid bribes instead of going through the rightful procedures.
In cases of local government bodies, procurement practitioners tend to give jobs to supporters and family members instead of awarding them on merit.
There are also cases where public officials award themselves contracts through third parties, or reward contracts to non-existing companies.
THE Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) has warned accounting officers against signing contracts where the price quoted by the best evaluated bidder is higher than the market price.
“Do not sign such contracts. If you pay that money knowingly, you will be forced to pay it back. Remember the process is long; it involves going to jail,†Milton Tumutegyereize, the PPDA director training and capacity building, warned.
He was recently speaking to the accounting officers from statutory bodies and commissions at the Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The workshop aimed at enhancing efficiency in public procurement and disposal.
Tumutegyereize noted that the authority had learnt that many entities had been awarding contracts to service providers at high costs above the market price.
“Value for money goes beyond the procurement process.It involves the price. You can give a contract to the lowest bidder but when the price is higher than the market price.
“That means we are not getting value for money. You are not saving,†he noted.
He advised them to cancel the whole procurement process, if the lowest bidder’s quotation is higher than the market price.
“If a ream of duplicating paper costs sh10,000 on the market, do not pay for sh15,000 because it is the lowest bidder’s quotation,†he added. Tumutegyereize said PPDA plans to come up with the average price list of common user commodities and supplies on the market to ensure that entities follow it when awarding tenders.
The list will be updated regularly basing on the demand and supply, he added.
PPDA already updates common user supplies for hospitals and schools.
The list will be extended to cover other items, Tumutegyereize said. Like other public sectors, the procurement industry is riddled with corruption and experts ask why it is so and how the vice can be wiped out.
In recent years, multiple corruption scandals have emerged, involving politicians and bureaucrats taking kickbacks from companies in exchange for public contracts.
Most procurement officers and a number of aides tend to award state contracts to companies which paid bribes instead of going through the rightful procedures.
In cases of local government bodies, procurement practitioners tend to give jobs to supporters and family members instead of awarding them on merit.
There are also cases where public officials award themselves contracts through third parties, or reward contracts to non-existing companies.