GABORONE - Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo says public procurement has an important role to play in support of government policies and development objectives.

Procurement has now become one of the most critical functions in leading organisations. Governments and corporate organisations are increasingly emphasising the need to reduce costs, better manage supplier relations, make faster decisions and establish more efficient procurement processes that may help grow the economy or companies, he said.

Mr Matambo was officiating at a three-day fourth Commonwealth Public Procurement Network (CPPN) conference on Monday.

According to the finance minister, public procurement is particularly important for governments as it accounts for a significant proportion of the Gross Development Product (GDP). He said in the developed countries, public procurement accounts for 10 15 per cent of GDP whilst it accounts for up to 25 per cent of such in developing countries.

He said in Botswana it is estimated that about 60 per cent of government development budget is spent through the public procurement system. He said there was no doubt that procurement systems play a critical role in facilitating the realisation of governments development goals.

Efficient procurement procedures should contribute to effective project implementation and service delivery. It is desirable that public procurement systems must therefore be integrated with the development planning framework and budgetary approval processes.

In Botswana, PPADB has embarked on a project called the Integrated Procurement Management System, which is aimed at the integration of the procurement cycle into the development planning process.

Botswana PPADB was also in the process of implementing a web-based system with various procurement modules to assist the board in the effective and efficient delivery of its mandate. These efforts, according to Finance minister, should enable the board to decentralise its services away from a central point to the procuring entities and bidding communities beyond the confines of the PPADB offices in Gaborone. He said public procurement should endeavour to promote industrial, social and environmental policy objectives including economic diversification and citizen empowerment.

Mr Matambo also implored the participants to carefully consider their roles in the context of facilitating the implementation of government socio-economic policy objectives through public procurement by operating within the ambit of their respective laws.

He said he hoped by the end of the conference delegates would be able to appreciate the impact of individual country reform initiatives in procurement, identify weaknesses and develop smart action plans which would help them improve their procurement schedule. The principal aim of the conference was to enhance learning and sharing of experiences through strengthening the existing networks of the procurement practitioners in the different countries of the Commonwealth.

The conference was held under the theme, Leadership and Innovation in Public Procurement, which focused on highlighting the strategies that different countries were adopting or were contemplating to adopt in order to transform their public procurement institutions so that they could keep pace with the increasing demands of an ever-changing socio-economic environment, both locally and internationally.

The conference brought together public procurement practitioners with varying backgrounds and experiences from different countries of the Commonwealth. BOPA