i) Invitation of tenders and prequalification is the first stage which involves:
*Preparation of standard tender document in accordance with PPA requirements
*Preparation of invitation document which should contain all relevant information required by the Public Procurement Law. It must contain every information the tenderer needs in completing the tender document.
*Advertisement is made in national newspaper (or other approved media) for the supply of GSWs. The tenderers should be given at least two weeks to prepare and submit their tenders.

ii) Submission of tenders
*All Tenders shall be deposited in the designated locked tender box (or such other arrangements as stated in the Tender Document) until the Tender Opening.
*The Tender Document will have provided clear instructions to tenderers on the marking and sealing of Tenders and the procedures to be followed for submission.
*The closing date and time for submission of Tenders must be determined in advance and stated in the Tender Document.
*The tenderer who submits a tender should be given a receipt showing the date and time of delivery.
*A tender submitted after the deadline should be returned to the tenderer unopened.
*The tenderer may submit a tender security together with the tender document when required by the entity.

iii) Evaluation and Comparison
Opening of tenders
*Tender Opening shall commence immediately after the close of the tenders (as stated in the tender document).
*A Tender Opening Panel shall comprise at least 3 persons, including a member of the Entity Tender Committee.
*They shall ensure that minutes of the tender opening proceedings are duly written.
Examination of tenders
*Tenders submitted and opened should be examined to ensure that they meet the requirements of the tender document.
*A tender shall be considered responsive if it conforms to the requirements of the tender invitation documents.
*A tender should not be accepted such as if:
o the supplier is not qualified to tender
o The tender is not responsive
o The supplier refused to effect minor correction indicated
o There is evidence of inducement from the supplier
Evaluation of tenders
*Head of Procurement Entity shall constitute an Evaluation Panel Consisting of a minimum of three persons with the required expertise to conduct the evaluation.
*Procurement Entities must evaluate Tenders solely on the basis of the information provided in the respective Tenders and no changes in the Tender price or substance of a Tender will be permitted.
*Responsive tenders should be evaluated based on the set criteria in the tender invitation document.
*The Tender Evaluation Panel will prepare an evaluation report for submission to the Tender Committee.
*The evaluation report should be prepared using the standard format for the Evaluation of Goods.
*The appropriate review authority (Head of Procurement Entity, Tender Committee, District, Regional, Ministry or Central Tender Review Board) in accordance with the thresholds stated in the schedule, will review the evaluation report and recommendations presented in the Evaluation Report.
*The approval shall be ‘One stop’ only. i.e. concurrent approvals must be obtained.

iv) Contract Offer
*Following approval from the relevant review body, the contract will be awarded to the Tenderer who has submitted the lowest evaluated Tender.
*Before contacting the Tenderer, a formal commitment of the required funds against the budget of the Procurement Entity must be approved.
*Notice of the tender award shall be issued promptly to the successful Tenderer. The successful Tenderer shall be required to confirm in writing acceptance of the tender award and submit the appropriate Performance Security (if required).
*The Tenderer shall be invited to attend for contract signature, or where this is not practical, provided with all four copies of the Contract for signature and return of three signed copies of the Contract to the Procurement Entity.
*Failure of the Tenderer to confirm acceptance of the award, or to submit the Performance Security, or to sign the contract may constitute grounds for the annulment of the award and forfeiture of the Tenderer’s Tender Security.
*In that event, the Procurement Entity may award the contract to the next lowest evaluated Tenderer, whose offer is substantially responsive and is determined to be qualified to perform the contract satisfactorily.

The public procurement reform programme was part of a wider reform agenda targeted at improving public financial management. The objectives of the procurement reform proposals are to:
– Promote national development;
– Enhance harmony with other local and international laws;
– Foster competition, efficiency, transparency and accountability;
– Facilitate ease of procurement administration; and,
– Ensure value for money

Objective of PPB.
The primary objective of the PPB is to harmonise the processes of public procurement in the public service to secure a judicious, economic and efficient use of state resources in public procurement and ensure that public procurement is carried out in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

Functions of the Board.

• Make proposals for the formulation of policies on procurement.
• Ensure policy implementation and human resource development for public procurement.
• Develop draft rules, instructions, other regulatory documentations on public procurement and formats for public procurement documentation.
• Monitor and supervise public procurement and ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
• Have the right to obtain information concerning public procurement from contracting authorities.
• Establish and implement an information system relating to public procurement.
• Publish a monthly Public Procurement Bulletin which shall contain information related to public procurement, including proposed procurement notices, notices of invitation to tender and contract award information.
• Assess the operations of the public procurement processes and submit proposals for improvement of the processes
• Present annual reports to the Minister of Finance on the public procurement processes;
• Facilitate the training of public officials involved in public procurement at various levels.
• Develop, promote and support training and professional development of persons engaged in public procurement, and ensure adherence by the trained persons to ethical standards.
• Advise Government on issues relating to public procurement.
• Plan and co-ordinate technical assistance in the field of public procurement.
• Maintain a register of procurement entities and members of and secretaries to tender committees of public procurement entities.
• Maintain a data base of suppliers, contractors and consultants and a record of prices to assist in the work of procurement entities.
• Investigate and debar from procurement practice, suppliers, contractors and consultants who have seriously neglected their obligations under a public procurement contract, have provided false information about their qualifications, or offered inducements of the kind to public officers.
• Maintain a list of firms that have been debarred from participating in public procurement and communicate the list to procurement entities on a regular basis.
• Hold an annual forum for consultations on public procurement and other related issues.