SBPs are key documents used in procurement that contain instructions and provisions to bidders and form the basis for expected offers or bids by providing the market with a clear idea of what is required by the procuring entity. Vice President and Finance minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, and the AfDB’s deputy director-general for the Southern Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, Moono Mupotola, signed the grant agreement last week in Gaborone. The SBPs are for works, goods, and services aligned with the new Public Procurement Act and the Public Procurement Regulations.
The grant also covers training of stakeholders on the SBPs. “Section 56 of the Public Procurement Act mandates the authority to adopt, develop, and issue, as well as amend, where necessary, an SBP and contract to be used by procuring entities on a mandatory basis. “The technical assistance will go a long way in coming up with fit-for-purpose SBPs, and the realisation of the Act’s intended outcomes,” reads a statement released by the PPRA after the signing. The PPRA said SBPs enhance compliance and standardisation in procurement and will prevent wastage, lead to value for money procurement, and increase transparency and sustainability of the procurement process. “The authority has noted that procuring entities and contractors are experiencing challenges in carrying out procurement activities with the current SBPs.
In particular, procuring entities and contractors face challenges in using SBPs for complex procurements as they don't incorporate changes brought about by the Act, and don't reflect current international best practice. “The SBPs don't encompass the contract forms indicated in the public procurement regulations of 2023; and the “new” procurement methods introduced by the PPA,” the authority said. The PPA further added that with the current SBPs, procuring entities continue to struggle with using the right procurement package, and in some instances use packages not aligned to the type of procurement at hand. “Procuring entities also struggle with completing SBPs and understanding terms and conditions. “As a result of the noted challenges, an urgent need to develop appropriate and suitable SBPs arose,” the authority said. The grant provided by the AfDB will help the PPRA enhance the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public procurement process in Botswana through effective implementation of the Act, thus supporting the government’s fiscal sustainability objectives.
The project will be implemented in two phases with Phase I focused on the review and development of the SBPs and related capacity-building initiatives whilst Phase II will focus on the development of a Procurement Professionalisation Strategy as well as its operationalisation. The PPRA, which succeeded the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board, is the state-owned regulator of government’s procuring entities in the country. Procuring entities include ministries and local authorities, which are assigned public funding.
