<strong>NPPA Launches 2^nd Quarter Price Norm</strong>

On Thursday 11th May, 2023, the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) launched its Second Quarter of 2023 Public Procurement Price Norm at the main conference hall in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Tower Hill, Freetown.

According to section 14 (j) of the Public Procurement Act, 2016, the NPPA should on a quarterly basis publish the prices of commonly used items in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) in order to ensure value for money in the procurement of goods, works, and services.

The acting Deputy Director of the Procurement Directorate at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Unisa Dumbuya thanked the Board, Management and Staff of NPPA for the immense transformation of the public procurement landscape and the continuous improvement of the Public Procurement Price Norm. He encouraged public procurement practitioners to continue using the price norm because it is a law and pleaded with the Authority (NPPA) for three things.

Firstly, he asked the Authority to publish the price norm on time because of the instability of prices of commodities; secondly, to ensure that prices in the price norm are differentiated in line with the different International Commercial Terms (INCOTERMS), and finally, to review the 25% price adjustment allowed by the Authority for goods, works, and services because of the present economic situation in the country.

A representative from the Board of the NPPA, Mr. Thomas Legg stated that the publication and use of the price norm is a law and therefore, every public procurement practitioner should ensure strict use of it. He added that the Authority has been ensuring the publication and strict usage of the price norm since the new administration of the NPPA set in. He advised procurement practitioners to use the price norm in a way that it will ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the public procurement system.

Mr. Legg acknowledged instability of prices of commodities in the market but pleaded with public procurement practitioners to inject fairness in the usage of the price norm.

Chief Executive of the NPPA, Ibrahim Brima Swarray also thanked the Board, Management, Staff of NPPA, public procurement practitioners, and the Fourth Estate and other key stakeholders within the public procurement sector for the immense support he has received within these five years. He stated that without them, he could not have succeeded. He reiterated that the price norm is a law and as a result, every public procurement practitioner should ensure strict use of it. He said the Authority has done immensely well in the fight against corruption and positively transformed the public procurement sector because of the unflinching support he is receiving from His Excellency Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio over the years.

He pointed out that only Sierra Leoneans are going to make Sierra Leone and thus, every procurement practitioner should play a role in its development. He warned those MDAs that are sending restrictive and sole-source bidding requests to the NPPA to stop doing this and promised that he will not approve their requests because he sees no reason why they should be asking for such procurement methods (sole- source and restrictive bidding) at this moment in time.

He ended by calling on all stakeholders in the public procurement sector to continue to support the NPPA in the positive transformation of the sector.

The event was climaxed by a question and answer session.