Local public procurement officials are expected to benefit from critical training under a US$1 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded project intended to modernize the country’s procurement system.
The IDB recently published a request for expression of interest seeking a consulting firm to provide a public procurement training programme that will certify government officials in three levels of public procurement expertise in an online format. The US$1 million loan falls under: Support to Fiscal Policy and Management in Guyana.
Although it is a loan, IDB will be executing the project.
In its terms of reference, the IDB noted that Guyana is a small, resource-rich economy, which sustained positive economic growth for over a decade and is expected to be producing over 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, making it the third largest oil producing nation within five years.
The IDB said that Guyana’s institutional framework has not been able to translate economic returns into improved outcomes.
“To be able to manage such resources effectively, the country needs a modern and efficient public procurement system,” the IDB said. The IDB noted that while Guyana has made improvements over the last few years, in terms of institutional arrangements, there is a need to deepen procurement capacity and capability to achieve fuller objectives of fairness, transparency, and best value for money.
Therefore, it explained, a training centre is required to provide critical training and certification to public procurement officers in the National Procurement Tender Administration Board (NPTABoard) as well as the line ministries in best practices in public procurement.
This will see 120 government officials trained in at public procurement level 1, which will include fundamentals, principles, and general practice; 60 in level 2, which will include effective procurement processes for successful project implementation; and 30 officials in level 3, which includes advanced procurement and contract management strategies, bringing the trainees in terms of capacity, with what is needed for a modern procurement system.
