September 26, (THEWILL) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) have entered a partnership to strengthen the ongoing “Reform in Energy Sector” to improve productivity and add value to the economy.
A statement issued on Tuesday, by DD/Head Media, BPP, Janet McDickson, informed that the BPP Director General, Mamman Ahmadu, while welcoming the AfDB team in his office, led by the Regional Procurement Coordinator, Dr. Patrick Owuori, advised them on the way to scale hurdles and succeed in the project.
Ahmadu, who emphasised quality in the implementation of projects, said “Government projects need to last for a long time and not just for a short period of time”
The DG, who said the Bureau is working to achieve the Public Procurement Act, 2007, also disclosed that it is collaborating with the World Bank to put in place an E-Procurement mechanism for transparency in all procurement processes.
“We are designing a capacity building sector to design customised areas to train procurement officers in terms of skills and knowledge that will match the best practice in the world,” he said, adding that the office needs more funding to design procurement capacity that can work with the energy sector of all procurement across board.
The DG, however, said BPP’s partnership with AfDB would go a long way in enhancing the procurement sector engagement.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Regional Procurement Coordinator, AfDB, Dr. Patrick Owuori, said the new government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the bid to get the Power sector to improve its services, has requested that AfDB develop and redesign a template to improve the energy sector.
Owuori said the task would take them 6 to 9 months to redesign, adding that the entire project will take them a billion USD with a timeline between 2023-2024.
He said their visit to the Bureau was to identify potentials and get updates, adding that the Bank will use the country’s system and look at some key strategies of some ongoing reforms to build and strengthen the energy sector project.
