1.

THE BIDDING AND BID EVALUATION PROCESSES IN

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

2. OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS AND PRIOR REVIEW

PROCEDURES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN THE GAMBIA
 PUBLIC PROCUREMNT – AN INTRODUCTION
Public procurement means the process of acquiring goods, works, and
services by Government procuring entities.
For most developing countries, public procurement constitutes significant
portion of the national procurement operation. Through its considerable
purchasing power, public procurement can influence the behaviour of
suppliers and the behaviour of society at large (social and economic).

For public procurement to serve as a tool for societal change, it needs to

overcome some major operational constraints observed in procurement
practices. An approach of continuous improvement should be adopted to
identify specific operational constraints as they arise.
The solution to overcome these constraints should improve not just a given
procurement case but, where possible, create system-wide improvements.
 THE BIDDING PROCESS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

 Why is Public Procurement Different?

1. The primary purpose is to have:
o the right item

o the right price

o the right quality

o the right quantity

o the right place

2. The second most important purpose is to manage cost and to

provide programs and services for the benefit of the general citizenry.

Procurement must help maintain and promote the public trust of the
particular organisation and by extension the government of the day.
 The philosophy of public procurement compared to the private industry
causes many differences in the environment, the processes, the rules and
regulations, negotiations and procurement outcomes.

 The area of emphasis in public procurement is good procurement

governance which includes essential concepts and values such as:
a) Accountability: to establish clear lines of responsibility in decision-
making and provide for internal audit checks.
Procuring entities must be held accountable for the responsibilities assigned
to them. Procurement officers must be held accountable for procurement
decisions made by them. They must be accountable for the effectiveness,
efficiency, legal, and ethical manner in which they conduct procurements.

b) Responsiveness: to evaluate and respond to the public interest

Procurement must be responsive to the needs of the public. Being
responsive implies that procurement cannot operate in isolation.
To be responsive procurement must interface with other stakeholders to
fully understand the requirement and to provide the need in the most
efficient and effective manner.
 TRANSPARENCY: to ensure that procedures and policies are understood
and acceptable to suppliers as well as procuring entities.
Transparency, in the context of public procurement, refers to the ability of all
interested participants to know and understand the actual means and
processes by which contracts are awarded and managed.

Transparency is a key characteristic of a sound and efficient public

procurement system and is characterised by:

 Well-defined regulations and procedures open to public scrutiny

 Clear, standardised solicitation documents (bidding documents)

containing complete information

 Equal opportunity for all in the solicitation process

 Transparency means that the same rules apply to all bidders and that the
rules are publicised as a basis for procurement decisions.

 Transparent procedures help attract more investment by lowering risk for

firms. A transparent procurement system allows competing firms to judge
the risk of doing business with public sector organisations. They can make
more realistic economic investment decisions where public procurement
policies are in line with good commercial practice and public accountability
requirements.

 If a competing firm relies on personal contacts, bribes or other means to

influence the system in his favour then the particular public sector
organisation will most likely receive less satisfactory product at a higher
price and also the particular firm (contractor) will lose the initiative and
energy to improve its product or services to make it more competitive.
 COMPETITION: to attract high-quality national and international firms to
meet the needs through contracts.
To obtain best value, quality and service, it is good procurement policy to
encourage the most competitive and able suppliers to bid for contracts. To
encourage this, the procuring organisation must have:

 Procedures which are fair, non-discriminatory, and transparent.

 Requirements which are clear – using performance and international

specifications where possible.

 Standard conditions of contract and adherence to obligations under the

contract

 Good working relationships and trust with suppliers

 APPEAL RIGHTS: to redress meritorious grievances of suppliers and
correct system failures.
To support transparency in the procurement process and provide a check on
possible corruption, there is need for an independent forum to address
aggrieved bidders complaints and to provide remedies against violations of
the procurement regulations.

IT IS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND (PROCUREMENT GOVERNANCE)

THAT THE SOLICITATION PROCESS, THE BIDDING PROCESS, THE
EVALUATION PROCESS AND THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
PROCESS ARE BASED.
 PROCEDURE FOR OPENING OF BIDS
In public procurement the procedure for opening of bids is a composite part
of the overall bid evaluation process.
Procedure:
1. In public procurement, the advertisement for solicitation of bids or
invitation to bid includes the deadline date and time for closure of receipt of
bids. Deadline is usually 30 days after advert./invitation to bid This means
that any bid submitted after the closure date and time will be rejected and
must be returned unopened to the late bidder.
All bids submitted and received before the closure date and time are
qualified to be opened and be evaluated accordingly for possible award of
contract.

2. Prior to opening of bids the procuring organisation will set-up a bid

opening panel of at least three reliable staff members and a bid evaluation
committee of at least five competent staff members.

3. The date of bid opening shall coincide with the deadline for submission of
bids.
 Bid opening procedure cont.
4. It is best procurement practice and for reason of transparency to invite
bidders or their representatives and the general public to be present at the
bid opening.

5. Each member of the bid opening panel and the bidders or their
representatives must sign an attendance register and stating the
organisation being represented to confirm their presence.

6. Then bids are opened one after the other and the following requirements
are read-out and recorded from each bid by the secretary of the panel to
determine adminitrative compliance.
 Name and address of each bidder

 Bid price

 Bid validity period ( GPPA Reg. 90 days)

 Bid security amount provided

 Bid security validity period (GPPA Reg. 120 days)

 Bid Opening procedure Cont.

7. Bid prices read-out at bid opening may be communicated on request to

those bidders that have submitted bids but were not present or represented
at the bid opening.

8. The bid opening proceedings should be recorded in minutes form to be

part of the final Bid Evaluation Report.

THE BID EVALUATION PROCESS:

The bid evaluation process shall normally be done within twenty days from
the date of bid opening. This period may however vary depending on the
complexity or urgency of the procurement.
 SEE NEXT SLIDE No 13: THE GAMBIA BID
EVALUATION APPROVAL PROCESS.

 GAMBIA PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY (GPPA)

 MAJOR TENDER BOARD (MTB)
 PUBLIC PROCUREMENT APPROVAL PROCESS
 Introduction:

Basically, for reasons of greater visibility and monitoring of compliance to

governance in public procurement (transparency, accountability,
competition, etc) in the Gambia, the government deemed it necessary, in
2002, to institute reforms in the public procurement system with a view to
bring it line with international best practices.

The reforms, started in 2002, resulted in the establishment of the GPPA in

2003 through an act of parliament – GPPA Act 2002

The reforms brought about new approaches, new rules and regulations in
the administration and management of public procurement in the Gambia.

Public institutions are required to adopt the new approaches and comply
with the new rules and regulations for greater efficiency, effectiveness,
minimise corruption and to achieve value for money.
 The reform included a major shift in policy which changed from a
centralised procurement decision making located at the Ministry of
Finance to a devolved decision making empowering individual procuring
organisations to make their own procurement decisions within given rules
and regulations legislated and provided by the Government.

 GPPA is mandated to monitor compliance to these rules and regulations

and also evaluate procurement performance in terms of cost
effectiveness and value for money in the individual procuring
organisations nationwide.

 Procuring organisations are required to refer all procurement of amount

from D500,000 and above to the GPPA for prior review and approval
before award of contract. This means that the Bidding Document, the Bid
Evaluation Report, and the Contract Agreement are to be submitted for
prior review and approval.
 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MAJOR TENDER BOARD (MTB)
In 2014 the MTB was established by an act of parliament – The GPPA Act
(2014), with a mandated oversight responsibility for prior review and
approval of all public procurement processes of D10Million and above.
This means that any procurement by a procuring organisation of amount
D10Million must be referred to the MTB for prior review and approval before
award of contract. Thus the mandate or functions of the MTB includes as
follows:
 Approval of the annual procurement plan from Pos

 Prior approval of the procurement method if not Open Tender

 Approval of Bidding Document and of any subsequent amendments

 Approval of a recommendation to award contract

 Approval of variations to contract

 Approval of any contract completion report

The GPPA share similar mandate for procurement of D500,000 up to

D9Million 9Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand Dalasis
 BOARD MEMBERS OF THE MTB
Board members of the MTB are:
1.The PS Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs
2. The Managing Director National Roads Authority
3. The Solicitor General and Legal Secretary
4. The Director General of GamWorks Agency
5. The Secretary to Cabinet Office of The President
6. Head of the MTB Secretariat as Secretary

Each of the above five members is allowed to nominate an alternate to

attend and participate in Board meetings but could only vote in the absence
of the substantive member

All submissions are made to the Secretariat for review, analysis and advise
through a Board Paper. Copies of submissions and Board Paper are
circulated to members at least two days before date of meeting.