The New Dawn Liberia | Truly Independent

Liberia’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism has declared that the amended and restated PPCC act will ensure that there is efficiency and accountability in public spending “so that the public can get value for their money, also it will promote competition, fair play in concession agreements and procurement processes so that the public can get a fair share of their resources.”

Speaking on behalf of Vice President Joseph Boakai at the launched of the amended and restated PPCC Act of 2005 at the Monrovia City Hall Wednesday, Minister Sieh said the Amended Act will ensure the compliance to acceptable norms and procedures which will eradicate monopolies and provide empowerment to indigenous Liberians businesses.

“Please do not see the PPCC as your enemy, the PPCC is a partner in progress helping to create a system whereby the public can benefit from their resources”, he said.

Minister Sieh pointed out that PPCC continues to play a critical role in the governance structure by ensuring that “all of us conform to best practices as far as Public Procurement and Concessions are concerned.”

He urged all government institutions, the Liberian Legislature, the Judiciary, local authorities, financial institutions and the private sector to abide by the provision of the amended act of the PPCC. “This act is law and must be respected and upheld by all”, he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission said that the revised Act of his commission is “rigid”. “This was intentional, the motivation was to provide framework in which public and private actors can operate, while at the same time limiting their discretion”, said Chairman Willie Belleh.

He said that public procurement of goods, services and works accounts for over 63% of the national budget, as a gold, diamond, and timber are usually contracted out to foreign investors through concessions. “Let me be bold here to say that these are two areas in our national life that are most prone to waste and fraud. This is why in keeping with international best practices, we have opted to have a more prescriptive enabling legislation”, he said.

Speaking during the official launched of the amended and restated PPCC act of 2005 at the Monrovia City Hall Wednesday, Chairman Belleh said that the commission will act boldly in protecting the public interest.

According to him, the commission will also insist on competitive processes that lead to real economic values for concessions, threatening that PPCC will hold public institutions and government officials more accountable for the decisions they make in public procurement as well as in granting concession.