Minister pleads for small investors
Nov 26, 2009
The finance minister, Syda Bumba, has asked Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to give special consideration to small-and-medium size firms to compete for public contracts.
By David Mugabe
The finance minister, Syda Bumba, has asked Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to give special consideration to small-and-medium size firms to compete for public contracts.
“PPDA should undertake consultations with the relevant government agencies to implement reservation schemes in which only small-and-medium enterprises are eligible to compete for specified public procurement contracts,†she said.
Bumba was launching the Register of Providers, an online platform that profiles service providers, at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on Wednesday.
“This is one way of building capacity for our companies. For the case of providers of works and services, preferences schemes should focus on registered firms or joint ventures of registered Ugandan firms,†said Bumba.
Many times, big procurement contracts have ended up in the hands of foreign companies because PPDA has always cited a lack of technical, human resource and financial capacity among local firms.
James Kahoza, the board chairman of PPDA, said Ugandan businesspeople and companies need to pool their resources and capacities so they can grow.
“We have tried to give some preference but they do not always perform. An example is Zzimwe Construction which has been building roads around Kampala,†Kahooza said.
With the new Register of Providers, all companies wishing to do business with the Government will have their profiles captured in the newly created on-line database at a minimal fee.
The firms will also be required to reveal their past records of performance.
The registration requires a company to present all its required registration certificates, staffing capacity, education levels, physical and financial stands. PPDA will then verify the authenticity of the information.
The project will be run by the Government under the Threshold Country Plan and will be supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and Anti-Corruption Threshold Programme under USAID.
USAID provided $105,000 for the design, development and initial operationalising of the project.
The finance minister, Syda Bumba, has asked Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to give special consideration to small-and-medium size firms to compete for public contracts.
“PPDA should undertake consultations with the relevant government agencies to implement reservation schemes in which only small-and-medium enterprises are eligible to compete for specified public procurement contracts,†she said.
Bumba was launching the Register of Providers, an online platform that profiles service providers, at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on Wednesday.
“This is one way of building capacity for our companies. For the case of providers of works and services, preferences schemes should focus on registered firms or joint ventures of registered Ugandan firms,†said Bumba.
Many times, big procurement contracts have ended up in the hands of foreign companies because PPDA has always cited a lack of technical, human resource and financial capacity among local firms.
James Kahoza, the board chairman of PPDA, said Ugandan businesspeople and companies need to pool their resources and capacities so they can grow.
“We have tried to give some preference but they do not always perform. An example is Zzimwe Construction which has been building roads around Kampala,†Kahooza said.
With the new Register of Providers, all companies wishing to do business with the Government will have their profiles captured in the newly created on-line database at a minimal fee.
The firms will also be required to reveal their past records of performance.
The registration requires a company to present all its required registration certificates, staffing capacity, education levels, physical and financial stands. PPDA will then verify the authenticity of the information.
The project will be run by the Government under the Threshold Country Plan and will be supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and Anti-Corruption Threshold Programme under USAID.
USAID provided $105,000 for the design, development and initial operationalising of the project.