National Water welcomes new procurement guidelines

Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha MD. NWSC

One of the biggest public Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) in Uganda, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has welcomed the new reservation guidelines issued by the Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to promote local content in public procurement.

"We shall give exclusive reference to our nationals where applicable. These guidelines are based on thresholds which are very clear," Nable Byaruhanga, the corporation's procurement manager told the New Vision yesterday after a procurement capacity building workshop in Kampala.

The new guidelines, recently issued to accounting officers in all public Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) are already in force. 

These guidelines have been issued to further the aspirations of the National Development Plan II (NDP II) 2015/16 - 2019/2020 and the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) Policy.

Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha, the managing director of the corporation said the BUBU policy could not have come at a better time. 

"There is no policy that is better than BUBU. Ugandan money should be used to build Uganda's economy. Why should our money be used to build other people's economies? Let us embrace it and see how we can implement it fully."

Under the draft guidelines, at least 30% of the value of works undertaken by the Ministry of Works and Transport, Ministry of Water and Environment, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defence, Uganda National Roads Authority and Kampala Capital City Authority shall be reserved for Ugandans through subcontracting to local companies in case a contract goes to a foreign firm. 

Furthermore, special reservations for procurement of uniforms and related clothing materials, voltage cables and conductors and selected medicines are also set to come in place to protect local manufacturers.