USTDA Partners with the Republic of Botswana to Pursue Excellence in Public Procurement
March 5, 2014
(USTDA)
GABORONE, BOTSWANA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Botswana's Public
Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), outlining a joint commitment to
establish best-value procurement practices and policies in Botswana. The goal of
this partnership is to improve the Government of Botswana's capacity to make
informed decisions that take into account all relevant costs of goods and
services over the entire life of a project – particularly large-scale
infrastructure projects that have a widespread economic impact. This approach
will not only lead to smarter, longer-term investments with overall savings to
the Government, but will increase competition and deliver better development
outcomes.
U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Michael Murphy, who signed the MOU on USTDA's behalf,
called the program "one of the most important priorities for the U.S. in
Botswana." He said, "This program is designed to ensure that Botswana is able to
make informed choices for large-scale infrastructure projects, which will lead
to long-term, sustainable investments and greater economic growth."
The MOU, which establishes Botswana as USTDA's first partner country under its
Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI), was signed at the
conclusion of the first round of specialized training for procurement officials
from the PPADB and nine Ministries. The training represents the first activity
undertaken as part of the new partnership. USTDA worked with its globally
recognized GPI partner, the George Washington University Law School's Government
Procurement Law Program, to develop a three-day intensive training in Gaborone
for 37 public procurement officials. The training was designed to strengthen the
capacity of procurement officials in the areas of tender specification and
design, best-value determinations, contract management, risk mitigation, and
complaint review mechanisms.
Further activities envisioned under the MOU include more intensive follow-on
training in the United States for selected officials from Botswana. This
partnership will support the PPADB's goal of becoming a center for excellence in
public procurement in the Southern Africa region by 2018.
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.