Bureau Public Procurement is the process whereby public sector organizations acquire goods, services and works from third parties. The process should be efficient, transparent, and competitive as much as feasible, in order to attain best value for public expenditure and inspire public confidence, considering the fact that the public are the major stakeholders of Government. Private sector Procurement (generally called Purchasing and Supply) also seeks to obtain goods and services at best value but, unlike a public sector organization, is not obliged to provide equal treatment to all its citizens in the business community. Accordingly, it is common in the private sector to construct longer-term relationships with a key group of suppliers and contractors and to seek efficiencies throughout the supply chain.
The Law recognize the need to put adequate and efficient structures in place in order to ensure a seamless implementation. This would include sensitization programs for all Stakeholders, capacity building for about 60 Procurement Officers services-wide (including the LGAs) and the setting up of the Regulatory Agency (PLSBPP). Accordingly, the Law provides for up to 6months for a gradual wind-down and transitioning between the outgoing and emerging systems of Procurement. During this transitioning, partial implementation is expected to commence in 2016 and full implementation by 2017. Before then, necessary regulations to guide implementation would have been released.
For a six months transitional period, the State Tenders Board will continue to be the approving authority for the award of contracts within a benchmark to be set by the Plateau State Bureau of Public Procurement, after which each Ministry, Extra-Ministerial entity, Government Agency, Parastatals or Corporation will be expected to have set up its own Tenders Board including the Local Government Councils.