14/11/2017
The PP&DPA 2015 ushers in a new public procurement regime which will require radical shifts for all entities procuring with public money and professionals involved in public sector procurement in three important respects:
1. Governance & Institutional Arrangements - New fully resourced procurement departments headed by the new position of 'Chief Procurement Officer' (CPO) will have to be established with appropriate reporting lines and areas of responsibility congruent with the legislative provisions. Organisational Process Rules which support the new reporting and other regulatory obligations to the Office of the Procurement Regulator (OPR) will have to be established and organisation-wide training and capacity building undertaken.
2. Strategic & Sustainable Procurement Capacity Building - Public sector professionals will be required to undertake the transformational shift from a rules-based procurement compliance mindset to a more strategic procurement mindset using more sophisticated tools such as Portfolio Analysis, Spend & Category Management and Supply Chain Tracking, Management & Transparency. The new section 5 mandate for sustainable procurement also requires building capacity to measure social and environmental impacts and to transform the procurement function from an acquisition based framework to a whole life cycle costing framework which includes maintenance costs during the life of the product and the disposal of public assets.
3. New Offences, Liabilities & Risks - The new regime introduces new anti-corruption offences with substantial penalties including custodial sentences and heavy fines, along with new responsibilities toward suppliers and increased exposures through new public transparency and disclosure obligations and whistleblowing protection provisions. Public Sector professionals as distinct from public organisations will need to receive an independent analysis of the new potential liabilities and take appropriate steps to protect themselves from criminal, financial and reputational risks.
Moreover, the "new normal" of subsequent administrations suing Directors and Management of state-owned enterprises under a previous administration makes the environment for public sector leaders even more treacherous for well-meaning public sector leaders.
Public sector professionals and leaders across the state sector, Chairmen, CEOs, Tender Committee members ought not now, to be in a state of slumber waiting on Central Government to tell them what the new law means, what their legal risks are, how to implement the law or how to enforce it?
To learn more about navigating the new landscape being ushered in by the PP&DPA 2015, click the link below to receive additional information on CPI's Public Sector Procurement Lab: Sustainability, Transparency and Impact.
Over this two day intervention we will be tackling three targeted issues in public procurement which can quickly provide improved outcomes within an accountable framework. Three Procurement Learning Labs will be held.
