President Danny Faure met with the members of the National Tender Board at State House this morning, as he continues to meet with all public sector Boards.

The meeting was an opportunity for President Faure and members of the Board to discuss lengthily on the role of the National Tender Board, tender processes, constraints, and areas where government entities can improve.

During the meeting, the Chairperson of the Board, Mrs Mina Crea, outlined some of the key challenges of the National Tender Board, which includes the lack of procurement planning in the procuring entities, competition amongst bidders, proper monitoring of projects, capacity in the Procurement Unit, education of the bidders on the procurement processes and abiding to debarment process in accordance to the Public Procurement Act, 2008.

At the end of the discussions, the President thanked members of the Board for their hard work and dedication. He suggested that the procurement system is institutionalised to strengthen its operation.

The function of the National Tender Board is to approve all major public procurement of goods, services and labour, in a transparent, competitive and equitable manner, so as to obtain the best value for money for public funds.