Bill to set outpowers of National Procurement Commission

A new Bill to provide for the powers, duties and functions of the National Procurement Commission will be presented to Parliament soon, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said.

The National Procurement Commission is one of the Independent Commissions established under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

The Speaker told media personnel on Friday that he undertook to expedite the presentation of the National Procurement Commission Bill in Parliament.

The Commission is entrusted with formulating “fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective procedures and guidelines, for the procurement of goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems by government institutions”.

The Commission, which became operational in April 2016, is headed by Eng. B.N.I.F.A. Wickramasuriya and Prof. Chitra Weddikkara, Christy Perera, M. Vamadevan and Dr. Palitha Ekanayake are its other members.

The Government institutions covered by the Commission’s mandate include Ministries, government departments, public corporations, local authorities, any business or other undertaking vested in the Government and companies registered under the Companies Act, No 7 of 2007, in which the Government, a public corporation or any local authority holds more than 50 percent of the shares.

The Commission in May this year Gazetted new procurement guidelines for government institutions for the first time since 2006.

The Commission is required to monitor and report to the appropriate authorities, on whether all procurement by government institutions are based on procurement plans prepared in accordance with previously approved action plans.

The Commission is also entrusted with monitoring and reporting to the appropriate authorities on whether all qualified bidders are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the bidding process and whether the procedures for selecting contractors and awarding contracts are fair and transparent.

It also reports on whether members of Procurement Committees and Technical Evaluation Committees are suitably qualified.

The Commission has the power to investigate reports of procurements made by government institutions outside established procedures and guidelines, and to report the officers responsible for such procurements to the relevant authorities for necessary action. The new Bill will enable the Procurement Commission to use its authority in full.