The Southern Highlands Provincial Government has become the second province in the Highlands Region and the fourth in the country to successfully establish its Provincial Procurement Committee of the National Procurement Commission (NPC).
The Committee, chaired by Provincial Administrator Joseph Cajetan, was sworn in at the NPC head office in Port Moresby on Monday 5th October.
NPC Chief Executive Officer, Simon Bole, commend the Southern Highlands Provincial Government for their commitment to have the Committee successfully established.
“The NPC Board is dedicating its powers under the operation of the National Procurement Act 2018 to the districts and provinces through the district and provincial procurement committees because bulk of the procurement activities takes place there,” Bole said.
“That is where most of our people live and that is where goods and services are needed and expected to be delivered; not everything centralised here in Waigani, creating bureaucratic bottle neck.
“That’s why, NPC Board is dedicating powers to provinces and districts so they can do procurement within their threshold limit and ensure goods and services are delivered to the people.”
Bole said provinces and districts who are yet to have their procurement committees should make it their utmost priority to contact NPC and facilitate their establishment and commissioning.
“Those that were already approved by the board must make it their immediate priority to contact NPC and ensure the swearing in is done either here in Port Moresby or in the districts and provinces where we can go and officiate.
“Because without the committees, you cannot do procurement and that means, you cannot be able to deliver goods and services to the people by operation of the National Procurement Act and the Public Finance Management Act,” he stressed.
Southern Highlands Provincial Administrator, Cajetan, thanked NPC board and management for their confidence in the SHPG to dedicate the procurement powers.
“With the procurement committees established, we can now proceed with procurement of goods and services in the province and I thank the CEO and the NPC for facilitating the committee establishment.
“We were one of the last provinces to request for NPC Committee establishment but are proud to be the second province in the Highlands region and the fourth in the country.”