In an attempt to speed up the public sector contract procurement process, Cabinet, on Monday, approved a new measure to increase the threshold for the award of contracts by the National Contracts Commission (NCC) and the Cabinet.

A select number of public entities had been accredited to award contracts internally, "up to a certain threshold". This, a ministry paper from the Cabinet Office explains, is because of the frequency of 'high-value' procurement contracts critical to their core business.

Cabinet also gave approval for the management by specific entities of procurements "critical to their efficient operation in a competitive environment".

Guidelines

The existing guideline allows public bodies to award contracts valuing below $250,000. For those worth $250,000 to $3.99 million, quarterly reports on all such transactions must be submitted to the Contractor General.

All government contracts, which are valued at $4 million and above, must be independently reviewed and endorsed by the NCC before the contract can be awarded by the recommending public body or agency.

For contracts valued at $15 million or more, Cabinet must endorse the recommendation before the award can be made.

It is not yet clear how far-reaching will be the implications of the new guidelines policy for some of the existing provisions.