A three-day forum, under the theme-Innovation and Reform- Strengthening Liberia’s Public Procurement System organized by the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission has kick-started in Monrovia.
The opening ceremony of the third annual forum brought together stakeholders from the government, donor partners, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public. Giving an overview of the forum PPCC Executive Director- Atty Jargbe Roseline Nagbe-Kowo said the third Annual National Procurement Forum is aimed at identifying implementation challenges and shortcomings of the PPC Act of 2010 and designing innovative ways that will open new avenues for greater digitization in public procurement functions.
According to Atty Nagbe-Kowo, the forum also seek to establish a well-functioning procurement system in Liberia by employing the necessary tools to digitize procurement and ensure effectiveness and efficiency in public procurement.
She stated that this year’s forum, which is held on the theme- ”Innovation and Reform- Strengthening Liberia’s Public Procurement System”, seeks to address the implementation challenges with the PPC Act and find workable solutions that will enhance national compliance for national development.
Atty Nagbe-Kowo noted that the Forum is been funded by the World Bank office in Liberia through the Public Financial Management Reform for Institutional Strengthening Project (PFMRISP) based in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).
The holding of the 2021 Annual National Procurement Forum is part of preliminary activities that will inform the establishment of an electronic procurement platform in Liberia and remove the anomalies and individual discretions often associated with paper-based procurement.
The first Annual National Procurement Forum was held in 2008 following two years of implementing the Public Procurement and Concessions Act of 2005. Experiences shared by stakeholders and the outcome thereof informed the restatement and amendment of the 2005 Act.
Also, in 2016, the 2nd Annual National Procurement Forum was held by the PPCC and partners with the objective of engaging and gathering feedback from relevant stakeholders on the implementation bottlenecks of the Restated and Amended Act of 2010.
Part II, Section 5(i) of the PPC Act of 2010 mandates the PPCC to hold an annual procurement forum on the status of the implementation of the Act. The three days Forum run from Wednesday, December 1, 2021, to Friday, December 3, 2021.
The Commission urged the General Public to join in the celebration as they walk the Compliance Journey in Liberia to promote transparency, accountability and boost public confidence in the procurement and concessions processes.
