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By Chukwudi Abiandu
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State this morning, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 listed the advantages of the establishment of the new Public Procurement regime in the state.
Speaking while declaring open a two-day sensitization workshop for top level public servants on the new Public Procurement Regime in the Unity Hall, Government House, Asaba, Governor Okowa represented by the former member of Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Basil Ganagana said the new Public Procurement regime will bring to an end the tradition that has made the people to be short-changed by the cost of public service delivery, and install a tradition of honesty in service from those entrusted with power.

Acknowledging the timeliness of the workshop, which is designed to improve the knowledge of the participants on the provisions of the Delta State Public Procurement Law 2016, aimed at deepening the knowledge of officers charged with the implementation law, the Governor said: “As a government, we are committed to realizing our SMART Agenda through a culture of effective service delivery, transparency and accountability in all transactions.

“This training is therefore, a welcome development considering the structures put in place by the state government to instill the principle of accountability, prudence and transparency with a view to curtailing unnecessary expenditure and adhering to due thew conduct of government business.

“The enactment of the Delta State Procurement Law in 2016, is part of our desire and commitment to further entrench prudence in the management of our state resources, with the introduction of open competitive bidding, achieving long-term macro-economic stability, and added value for money spent. The law is meant to guide accessing ministries, departments, to ensure judicious spending of public funds.”

Governor Okowa pointed out that the vision of the state government is to restore prompt service delivery, transparency, competition, integrity and value for money in the award and execution of public contracts and procurements of other services. “Our interest is to restore openness, budgetary discipline, optimal cost-saving devices, efficient project implementation and improvement in service delivery,” he stated.

Welcoming participants to the workshop, the Director-General, Delta State Public Procurement Commission (DSPPCL), Mr. Joseph Duke Okeke, said procurement is at the centre of development in every part of the world. “It is of economic value for every State to improve on her procurement. Efficient public procurement is essential in the process of service delivery to her citizens. Most government works and services are implemented through the process of procurement. Good and accountable governance therefore thrives when the public procurement processes are governed by rules and effective institutions.”

Okeke said that to achieve this scenario, procurement laws are usually enacted and procurement oversight institutions established to regulate the practice of public procurement within governance and private sector actors such as contractors and consultants.

He also announced that the objective of the two-day workshop includes: to introduce and interpret the major provisions of the Delta State Public Procurement Law, and to understand the basic principles and practice of procurement.
The resource person were Eze Onyekwere esq, the Lead director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Abuja, who spoke on “Overview of the Delta State Public Procurement Law, and Mr. Henry Idogun, the managing director, Edo State Procurement Agency, who spoke on Implementing the procurement Reforms:The Edo State Experience.