By John Austin Unachukwu
The General Manager, Bureau for Public Procurement, Anambra State, Sir Melie Onyejepu, has touted the benefits of government compliance with procurement laws.
Onyejepu, a former Special Adviser to the Anambra State Governor on Budget, Monitoring and Implementation, said the state’s compliance with its procurement law improved the procurement process and added value to its economy.
He said: “The good thing is that previously, we were having this challenge of ministries conducting procurement activities without following due process, in terms of a situation where they had already nominated a contractor to handle the job. The laws states that there has to be a minimum of three contractors, and then you find out that the other contractors were arranged.
“So this situation was one of the challenges, but now, we have amended the law to ensure that some of those gaps are filled, people understand what the law is and that the law has teeth to bite.
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“So, if you go against the law, there are consequences and definitely this has helped us in shaping the processes. We are on top of some of those challenges and we are getting around them in a manner that is commendable and sustainable for the state’s benefit.”
On his department’s compliance with the Anambra State Procurement Law, he explained that there was previously no legal backing for the procurement process, but that has been corrected.
Onyejepu said: “Now, the law provides that there are structures that must be put in place….The law understands that structures must be on ground for you to be able to implement the law fully. “…Before now, there were no tender boards in the ministries and the ministries just called for tender just like that. There was no procedure through which those tender processes go through. So, what has happened is that the laws prescribe structures that must be in place and we have put up those structures in the state. We are working in accordance with the provisions of the law and that has changed the face of procurement in the state.”
On the challenges he meets on the budget circle, Onyejepu said: “In the budget circle, some of the challenges you encounter is where Ministries don’t abide by the pre-budget procedures before we finally cut the budget. We found out that sometimes when we sent out the call circular, they didn’t attend the bilateral discussions even at the State House of Assembly level and then when the budget is finally passed, you find out a situation where the Ministries are coming up with activities which they didn’t put in the budget earlier, or activities that were not approved by the House of Assembly or the appropriation bill.”
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