Roseau Dominica-March 24, 2022: The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act No. 14 of 2021 will come into effect on April 1, 2022. The Act was passed by the House of Assembly on December 1, 2021.
Cabinet has approved the commencement date according to Section 86 of the Act, which provides for the Minister of Finance to make regulations to give effect to the provisions of the Act. Cabinet has further approved the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Regulations 2022.
The key objectives of the Act are to modernize public procurement in accordance with the principles of good governance and to establish the institutions required for the implementation of new legislation, namely the Public Procurement Board and the Procurement Review Council.
The Act also aims to encourage the participation of suppliers, contractors, and consultants in public procurement proceedings.
The Regulations outline procurement criteria including the requirement to publish open, competitive procurement opportunities; contents required in the bidding documents; as well as the required bid security. It includes measures to promote domestic industry and social and economic development through procurement by micro, small and medium-sized enterprise; enterprises led by women, youth, the elderly, and persons with disability; and other groups identified by the Minister.
According to the regulations, bids will be examined by an evaluation committee to ensure they meet basic eligibility criteria prior to a more exhaustive evaluation.
The regulations provide for two-stage bidding for an open, competitive procurement process – the technical evaluation and the final bid containing prices and other financial details. The procurement methods set out the terms of a consultancy contract and require that selection processes are based on the quality and cost method.
The quality and cost method uses a competitive process among shortlisted consultants, which considers both the technical quality of the proposal and the cost of the services.
Regulations for the Disposal of Public Property are also outlined, as well as procedures for Challenge and Review. A request for review will be assigned to the Review Council after it is lodged with the Secretariat. The responsibilities of the Secretariat in supporting the Review Council are also defined.