By: Washington Tumay Watson –onewash9@gmail.com
MONROVIA-The one day Public Procurement awareness and engagement with the media and civil society organizations that was organized by the Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) with support from the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) brought together reporters, editors and media executives, civil Society practitioners from Montserrado and Margibi Counties.
The Participants to acquired knowledge in the area of PPCC mandate, the media and CSOs roles in public procurement, enforcing procurement compliances among others.
Speaking September 3, 2021 during the one day PPCC awareness engagement within Kakata, Margibi County, the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission Atty. Jargbe Roseline Nagbe-Kowo. The workshop was a continuation of their commitment regarding the PPCC interaction with the media and CSOs in providing routine training so that they can be in the position to understand the workings of the PPCC and its mandate as a means of enhancing their capacity in reporting and gathering information relating to the procurement and concession sector.
She furthered that the PPCC Act is intended to ensure transparency, accountability, as well as promoting fairness and competition, integrity, mostly the county economic development.
PPCC Boss said in public procurement funding, a large scale of public funding goes to procuring entities, stressing that at the conclusion, there should be value for money, quality services that will benefit the citizenry among others.
She further disclosed that the procedures in the procurement sector of the government are important, emphasizing that the media and CSOs need to ensure that those procedures are followed to ensure accountability.
Atty. Nagbe-Kowo used the time to urge the media to always verify their reports, relating to the PPCC, indicating that those basic information from the PPCC are public and the Commission is willing to provide such information to the media and CSOs so that they can do their research for the public consumption.
She however said the Media and CSOs engagement are all about building good governance and accountability through the gathering of factual information from the PPCC with the objective of reporting credible and factual information.
She expressed gratitude to both the media and CSOs practitioners for taking such an opportunity to participate in the workshop.
Also speaking was the Executive Director of the Center and Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), Anderson Miamen who disclosed that procurement is one of the major risk areas where uncertain performances are mostly happen.
He said with such there is a need to create massive awareness and understanding of the public about the procurement process.
Mr. Miamen said there is a vital need to improve transparency and accountability in all procurement processes stressing that the collaboration with the media and civil society organizations to help expose and discourage all forms of waste and abuse in procurement, particularly public procurement processes is a plus.
He said CENTAL as one of the leading CSOs in the fight against corruption and integrity building in the country is committed to advocating for transparency, accountability and integrity in all sectors, including public and other procurement processes.
However, the Head of Secretariat Open Government Partnership Secretariat, Ralph Jimmeh welcomed the partnership and collaboration between the PPCC and that of the Civil Society and the Media.
Mr. Jimmeh wants the PPCC the CSOs and the Media continue to engage, they will be able to participate from a more positive prospective from the spending entities on what is been done with in the procurement sector of the country.
He said at the Open Government Partnership Secretariat they are interested in the availability of open data from the PPCC to enable both the media and CSOs ascertain those relevant information among others.
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