NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government’s nearly $800 million allocation in the 2022/2023 fiscal period for recurrent and capital expenditure represents “vast” procurement opportunities, according to Prime Minister Philip Davis, noting that a new Public Procurement Bill will soon be made public for consultation.
Speaking at the launch of the government’s new eProcurement platform, Davis noted that the new platform will retire the previous procurement platform which was launched back in 2005 and was limited in its function.
The new platform, designed and built by GobonFire, will enable vendors to receive customized procurement opportunity notices, search for procurement opportunities across all Government agencies, and provide instant access.
Davis said: “For fiscal year 2022/2023 we have allocated approximately $795 million for recurrent and capital expenditure. That represents vast procurement opportunities for goods and services and for construction services.”
“We have carefully selected this solution because it will ensure that procurement is consistent across the public sector, reducing cost without compromising quality, minimizing product failures, and assuring operational efficiency to improve outputs of the supply chain. The fallout from Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic left many suppliers struggling to meet their business obligations because of lockdowns and business uncertainty.
He said: “Contracting agencies, therefore, must act to support their at-risk suppliers and potential suppliers, carefully avoiding the imposition of unnecessary burdens or constraints, so that they are better able to participate in procurement activities.”
Davis also noted that the government is committed to allocating five percent of all Government procurement contracts to businesses owned by young Bahamians.
“Small businesses, Family Island businesses, businesses owned by women, and businesses owned by young Bahamians will be monitored as key performance indicators (KPIs) for this Administration,” he said.
Financial Secretary Simon Wilson described the new eProcurement system as “best in class”.
“It allows the government to implement first-class procurement legislation. It is user-friendly, very transparent, and should streamline procurement for the country,” said Wilson, who added the system was fully automated “so there is no human intervention”.
Wilson explained that the platform has a $150,000 price tag and is a software-as-a-service platform.
Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer’s Confederation (BCCEC) chairperson Krystle Rutherford-Ferguson noted that procurement is a lever that can be pulled by the government to spur economic activity.
“Notwithstanding the fact that some levels of the tendering process were available online, we welcome the move to modernize and to improve on what existed before,” she said.
“Modern, open, and fair public procurement systems benefit not only businesses but government and its citizens as well. Furthermore, governments are an important source of business for the private sector, which in turn build communities and provide jobs. As a person with a vested interest in the success of our country, we can appreciate that at all levels we should want to see systems implemented that are efficient, fair, and accountable.”
All businesses are encouraged to register on the new portal to access government opportunities. Companies currently registered on suppliers.gov.bs are also required to register on the new portal, as the suppliers.gov.bs system will phase out on October 3, 2022.
Some of the key upgrades include built-in transparency, a categorized notification system as well as an improved, intuitive user interface. Each vendor will need to provide their business NIB number and business license number.
Additionally, each vendor is required to upload a digital copy of their valid business license. In the absence of a valid business license, a vendor can still register on the portal. However, vendor registration will be incomplete and the supplier will not be able to bid on opportunities.
