The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) yesterday opposed the proposed 35 per cent increase of mobilisation fee for government contractors.
BPP’s Legal Adviser, Mrs. Amaka Obinna, who spoke during a public hearing aimed at amending the Public Procurement Act, insisted that if there must be any increment from the 15 per cent in the extant law, it must not exceed 20 per cent.
Arguing that the proposition was in line with international best practices, she stated that as practitioners, there were instances of abandoned projects even after contractors had been duly mobilised with huge sums of monies at the expense of the government.
Stating that the BPP had already commenced the process of classification and categorisation of contractors to ensure project execution, Obinna canvassed the amendment of Section 42 of the extant Procurement Act to eliminate time wastages and cost of advertisement in the media.
Expressing support for the President to remain as chairman of the BPP council, she opposed the idea of subjecting the appointment of the director-general of the bureau to competitive selection and that it must not be subjected to confirmation by the National Assembly.
However, a member of the Committee on Public Procurement, Mr. Gabriel Onyewinfe (Anambra APGA), disagreed with her position on the appointment of the director-general, noting that the idea to subject the appointment to competitive election was aimed at averting abuses and recruiting competent persons to be at the head of the BPP.
Advertisement
Besides, President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Otis Onyaeji who said that engineers play crucial role in the procurement process, canvassed their inclusion in the BPP Council.
Also, President of the Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Mrs. Mercy Ote Iorchia, while expressing surprise over the omission of her members from the BPP council, said the involvement of surveyors in the procurement process would surely engender transparency in the procurement process.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who declared the hearing open, hinted that the purchase of defence equipment would be included in the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
He argued that this has become pertinent in view of recent happenings in the country where procurement of defence equipment was shrouded in secrecy, paving way for massive fraud by those involved in the deal.
Represented by Minority Whip, Yakubu Barde (PDP, Kaduna), he said: “It has become inevitable in the light of recent happenings that the Act is due for amendment to further check corruption and procurement irregularities.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment