Annual Stakeholders’ Forum

1. Annual Stakeholders’ Forum Evolution of Public Procurement Reforms in Mauritius 21 October 2010

2. History of Public Procurement Reforms • Before 1994 - No legislation • 1994 – Establishment of Central Tender Board • 2000 – Public Procurement Transparency and Equity Act • 2000 – PPTE repealed and CTB re-established • 2006 – Public Procurement Bill adopted by National Assembly • 2008 – PPA proclaimed

3. Policy DecisionsBudget Speech 2008 -2009 • Support to SMEs • Margin of Preference to Domestic Bidders up to 2010 • 15% on locally manufactured goods with 30% local input • 10% on works contracts subject to performance by foreign partner or sub contractor not exceeding 50% 0f value of works • Exclusively for SMEs after 2010 • Domestic SMEs (annual turnover not exceeding Rs 50m) in national bidding • 10% on locally manufactured goods with 30% local input • 7.5% on works contracts subject to performance by foreign partner or sub contractor not exceeding 50% 0f value of works

4. Policy Decisions (2008 – 2009)Stimulus Package • Protection of Local Labour • For all public construction projects, a higher preference margin will be given to local and foreign companies employing Mauritian workers.

5. Policy DecisionsBudget Speech 2009 • Ensuring Economic Procurement • There will be no award of works contract if the best bid exceeds the latest updated cost by 15%, in which case negotiations will be undertaken by the public body. • Assistance and Guidance • The mandate of the PPO will be broadened to include assistance to public bodies and oversight on training and capacity building in the area of procurement. • Enhanced Transparency • The various ministries and departments will be required to publish an evaluation report after a contract has been awarded.

6. Implementation of Policy Decisions2009 • Enforcement of Labour Laws • General Conditions of Contract amended • Monitoring of compliance with Labour Laws by public bodies during execution of public contracts

7. Important Changes made to Act and Regulations

8. Important Changes made to Act and Regulations • Non submission of information or submission of false information to PPO and deliberate non compliance constitute a breach subject to sanctions • Bid Evaluation Committee • CPB should include an officer of public body in BEC • Independence of evaluator determined by having no conflict of interest and not involved in conflicting assignment • Prescribed amounts revised • List of Exempt organisations reviewed

9. Other Measures • Bid securing declaration instead of Bid Security to facilitate participation of bidders • Bid security mandatory only above Rs 200m

10. Review of the PPA by World Bank

11. World Bank Recommendations • Government to elaborate a strategy to lay out the medium and long term goals of the Government related to the decentralization of procurement and specific actions required to attain these goals at the level of key players, including • Procurement Policy Office (PPO), • Central Procurement Board (CPB) and • Independent Review Panel (IRP). • This is an opportunity to further align responsibilities, accountabilities and incentives in the system with the final objective of optimizing the use of public funds. 

12. World Bank Recommendations • PPO to further affirm its authority as the procurement regulatory body. • PPO should strengthen its capacity to • collaborate with the other key actors and stakeholders in the procurement arena (CPB, IPR, internal and external audit, ICAC, media, Parliament) and • reach out to its clients including the Public Bodies, private sector, civil society.

13. World Bank Recommendations • PPO could further engage in the following: • Strengthening its supervisory role over all entities in charge of procurement in concert with the internal and external audit functions adopting a risk based approach. • Creating opportunities to build the capacity of the various participants in the system • Monitoring the capacity of the Public Bodies and recommending increases in their authority to conduct procurement consistent with their capacity.

14. World Bank Recommendations • Continuing with the advancement of cutting edge initiatives, such as the sustainable procurement agenda (Mauritius is one of the pilot countries), introduction of e-procurement, framework contracts, and PPP agenda.

15. World Bank Recommendations • Central Tender Board’s future role to be defined, in the context of further decentralization and taking into account the Mauritius-specific conditions.  

16. World Bank Recommendations • Public Bodies to acquire increased ownership in the procurement evaluation process. • The efficiency of the challenge mechanism to be further increased by simplifying the process and making the Independent Review Panel (IPR) decisions binding, unless overturned by courts.

17. Government’s Policy for Future Reforms • President’ Address on Government’s Programme • “Government will continue to empower Ministries and Departments by improving their capacity to implement capital projects and delivery of services. In this regard, the public procurement system will be further reviewed, modernized, decentralized and supported by the implementation of an e-procurement platform.”

18. Forthcoming Changes • Sustainable Approach to Public Procurement • E-Procurement • Electronic Reverse Auction • Framework Agreement Procedure • Re-definition of Procurement Methods in line with UNCITRAL Review

19. Further Capacity Building • Workshops/Training on • Bid Evaluation • Contract Administration/Management • Life Cycle Costing • Contract Negotiations

20. Thank You