The Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), Atty. Jargbe Roseline Nagbe-Kowo, has stressed the need for value for money in procurement processes taking place in the country.
Speaking at a day-long engagement between the PPCC, media practitioners and civil society actors, on 3 September, in Kakata, Margibi County, the PPCC boss intimated that when it comes to public procurement, a large chunk of public funding actually go into public procuring, by procuring and concession-granting entities, indicating that at the end of the day, “we want value for money, we want quality services.”
She added that as part the requirements to be fulfilled by procuring or concession-granting entities, their services must be able to benefit the citizenry, as well as benefit society.
She disclosed that PPCC’s aspiration is to fulfill the intent of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act of 2015, the intent of the formation of the PPCC, which she said encompasses targeting and promoting integrity, accountability, fairness, competition, and maximizing efficiency, for the over-all good of achieving economic development for Liberia.
“So, all the work activities that we do are to be able to realize those aspirations daily – every single work we do at the Commission is all directed at realizing the aspirations of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act, she added.
She stated that in order to attain the aspiration of the PPCC, procurement processes have got to be in place to yield quality and good services, stressing that abiding by all of the procurement procedures enshrined in the PPCA, is very important.
She emphasized that it’s imperative procurement procedures are followed to the letter; aimed at ensuring procuring and concession-granting entities follow the rules, to guarantee quality services, transparency, accountability, saying, “because at the end of the day, that will be able to effectively yield quality service that will lead to the development of this country. So it’s at the heart of the State and it’s at the heart of good governance.”
She further stated that a key component of the process that must be followed by entities is for Procurement Committee meetings to be held, prior approval of contract-awards, the availability of procurement plans, and procurement reports – “those are all key requirements that entities must be able to abide by when it comes to being in compliance with the PPCA, Atty. Nagbe-Kowo emphasized.
She expressed delight for the turn-out of participants at the one-day PPCC, Media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs’) engagement, indicating that “It’s a continuation of our commitment regarding our interactions with you in terms of having a regular and routine training with the media and civil society organizations.”
She promised that the PPCC would continue to engage with the media and CSOs, aimed at effectively collaborating to report on public procurement issues from an informed perspective.
Other speakers at the one-day event include the entity’s Director of Compliance, Himmie E. Langford, who spoke on the topic, “The Media and Civil Society in Enforcing Procurement Compliance”; Mr. Nathan N. Bengu, PPCC’s Director of Communication, who addressed the working session of the forum on the topic, “Building Synergies with the Media and Civil Society Groups to Enhance National Development,” and among other speakers.
