Bole explains delay in process

By REBECCA KUKU
CONTRACTS for routine medicine supply were delayed due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, National Procurement and Commission (NPC) chief executive officer Simon Bole says.
Bole said after an advertisement was placed and bidders entered bids, it went before a technical and financial evaluation team made up of officers from NPC, Finance, the State Solicitor and Health Department.
“We received notice from Health Department to put the advert out in June, but then the country was hit with a Covid-19 wave. Shortly after that, the chair for the technical and financial evaluation team who is the deputy health secretary lost her husband and had to go on compassionate leave, three other appointments were made to the position since then,” he said.
“The second person appointed, ended up being sick and hospitalised and the third person just didn’t want to attend meetings.
“By then new amendments were made to the NPC Act that gave powers to only the board to make the appointment. So the committee could not make a report to the board for consideration because there was no one appointed as the chair of the committee.”
Bole said they had to wait until the board met and appointed a committee chair.
“By the time someone was appointed, it was already the New Year, the team had to put together a report and then submitted the report to the board,” he said.
Bole said the board had awarded the contract last week and the documents were now with the State Solicitor’s Office for clearance.
“I want to also appeal to the State Solicitor to fast track the clearance, as medicines are very important,” he said. “The State Solicitor is part of the committee that makes the report to the board, where there is also a State Solicitor representative, so it shouldn’t take that long.
“Once we get the clearance, we can then start the process and award to the successful bidder, so the process should be complete within this month, but if the clearance is fast tracked, it can be completed as early as next week.”