Tender Reforms Improve

By LUKE KAMA - The National

IMPROVING transparency and efficiency in the national procurement system is an important ingredient for national development, an official says.
Acting chief executive officer of the National Procurement Commission (NPC) Simon Bole (pictured) is in charge of the reforms facilitating the transition from the old Central Supplies and Tenders Board (CSTB) to the new commission.
“Prime Minister James Marape made the right decision to undertake a reform and modernise our procurement system when he was the Finance Minister in the O’Neill-led government,” he said.
Bole said the CSTB system was established 40 years ago to deal with tenders of contract in millions of kina.
“But now, we are in a changing world where the volume of our procurement has increased to hundreds of millions and into the billions of kina,” he said.
“At the same time, we need to have a procurement system where there is one authority and one reporting and auditing system so there is order and accountability in managing government contracts and supply of goods and services.
“The CSTB does not have a proper reporting system.
“These and other important legacies issues are all addressed in the National Procurement Commission reform.”
Except for State-owned enterprises, he said statutory authorities and State agencies should procure their contracts through the NPC processes and guidelines.
“We are already in the process of implementing the NPC,” Bole said.
“I always emphasise to my staff every Monday morning during our staff devotion to perform their duties honestly and transparently.
“We have a public complaint box at our office where we encourage people to lodge complaints on allegations of fraud or corruption concerning our staff.
“We receive their complaint and go through them accordingly and so far, we have already suspended three senior officers from the commission on allegations of fraud and corruption.”

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