PPADB aims for ISO certification

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The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) has experienced both successes and challenges in implementing its 2008-2013 strategy,however the process of formulating a new fi ve-year strategy is underway.The Board is also working on plans to acquire an International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) certifi cation by May this year.PPADB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive chairperson Bridget Popi John said this at a media briefing in Gaborone last Thursday.
“The organisational structure will be reviewed to ensure it facilitates the implementation of the strategy.During the next fi nancial year 2013/14, fi nancial thresholds review will be undertaken.This will be preceded by the performance assessments of individual committees of the Board. This time, the Board will consider raising ceilings for good performers on a case basis as part of the transition to full devolution over the next few years,” she added.

Ministerial Tender Committees (MTC) and District Administration Tender Committees(DATCs) handle procurement
and asset disposal activities falling within the
financial thresholds. The financial ceilings are reviewed biennially.Currently MTC
ceiling is P25 million and DATCs consider transactions of up to P2 million.

She also said in the pipeline is the Integrated Procurement Management System (IPMS)project aimed at improving efficiency at PPADB which is on-going for completion during the 2013/14 fi nancial year.Meanwhile,the launch of the contractor registration module is planned for tomorrow(March 27) after which all contractors seeking to register with PPADB will be required to use the online facility
to boost efficiency. Because of challenges experienced,John said the combined role of CEO and Board chairperson need to be separated to improve governance. Accordingly, the Board has proposed a review of the Act to address the concern. Also due to capacity constraints at MTCs and DATCs, secretaries are under resourced and members tend
to focus more on core duties sometimes at the expense of procurement-related functions

“However, the board is advocating for procurement related duties to form part of performance contracts of affected officers,” she said.The persisting perception of corruption in public procurement is also a challenge.However, John said the recommendations from Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and from the Corruption Perception Study are being considered for implementation. A Corruption Prevention Committee was recently appointed at PPADB to, among other things, pay particular attention to the issues.Poor participation of citizen contractors in public procurement appears a challenge,but with the implementation of the Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy of 2012, an improvement is anticipated,according to the Board.