PPCC conducts media executive workshop

A one-day workshop for Media Executives, including Managing Editors, Publishers, as well as senior reporters, under the auspices of the Public Procurement Concession Commission or PPCC, ended Thursday in Monrovia.

The workshop was intended to provide knowledge and understanding on how the media should report on procurement processes within institutions of government. Speaking yesterday, August 13, 2015 at the opening of the workshop, PPCC’s Executive Director James Dorbor Jallah told the participants that the primary objective of the workshop was for the media to get acquainted with the business registration process in order to win more contracts from government agencies.

“We want the press to be part of this process – something which will enable them received more contracts from institutions of government, and also for them to know how government institutions can award contracts to various entities in the country,” Jallah indicated.

According to him, the PPCC has a mandated to regulate public procurement in the country, saying when an agency receives money for procurement purposes, such must be done in line with the PPCC Act.

“If we don’t manage our resources properly, we will not have correct value for money,” he told media executives, noting that the registration process of every business operating in Liberia will enable the PPCC to identify who are the suppliers in terms of getting government contracts.

The vendor registration was launched on May 27, 2015, with five primary reasons, some which include enhancing efficiency in public procurement, increasing the level of participation of business and companies in the public tenders, facilitating the implementation of the small business act legislated to promote the growth of Liberian-owned businesses, formalizing the informal sector of the economy, and improving tax compliance and revenue generation.

The Executive Director said another benefit of the vendor registration is to ensure that all businesses, irrespective of geographical locations, will be accorded fair chances of participation in government tenders, depending on the methods of procurement utilized for a particular contract package.

He said the small business act or SBA has been promulgated to promote the growth of Liberian-owned business, saying it requires that at least 25% of all government procurement contracts be awarded to Liberian-owned businesses.

The President of the press union of Liberia or PUL, Mr. Abdullah K. Kamara, said the initiative under taken by the PPCC to have every Liberian business registered was to ensure good working relations between government and business owners in the country.

He described the workshop as an opportunity for journalists to understand the operations of the government, and how to report on the successes and failures. He noted that reporting on the functions of government will help journalists tell their own story the best way. – By Lewis Teh