Principles of Public Procurement
Public procurement principles set the framework for managing public procurement requirements, and also within which procurement practitioners’ must work. So, as practitioners it is important not only to have a clear understanding of public procurement principles, but to interiorize them so that they serve as guiding principles in our decision-making process. By integrating these principles into our work ethics, the outcome of our decisions will always be in line with public procurement principles. Being governed by and working in line with public procurement principles is especially important. Public procurement practitioners are public servants because we handle public funds. As such, we are bound by an ethical code of conduct and accountable for what we do or fail to do when managing those funds. The goal of public procurement is to award timely and cost-effective contracts to qualified contractors, suppliers and service providers for the provision of goods, work and services to support government and public services operations, in accordance with principles and procedures established in the public procurement rules.
Course Objectives
- Provide an adequate degree of transparency in the entire
procurement cycle in order to promote fair and equitable treatment
for potential suppliers. . - Maximise transparency in competitive tendering
and take precautionary measures to enhance integrity, in particular
for exceptions to competitive tendering . - Ensure that public funds are used in public procurement
according to the purposes intended. - Ensure that procurement officials meet high professional
standards of knowledge, skills and integrity. - Prevention of Misconduct, Compliance and Monitoring.
- Put mechanisms in place to prevent risks to integrity
in public procurement . - Encourage close co-operation between government
and the private sector to maintain high standards of integrity,
particularly in contract management . - Provide specific mechanisms to monitor public
procurement as well as to detect misconduct and apply
sanctions accordingly . - Establish a clear chain of responsibility together
with effective control mechanisms. - . Handle complaints from potential suppliers in a fair
and timely manner. - Empower civil society organizations, media and
the wider public to scrutinize public procurement .