AJITH SIRIWARDANA 
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Govt. procurement streamlined
President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a five-member committee chaired by Daya Liyanage, to make recommendations for a new procurement mechanism with a view to rationalising the government's procurement process.
Mr. Liyanage was formerly deputy secretary to the Treasury and former chairman of the National Procurement Agency.
The National Procurement Commission (NPC) to be set up under the 19th Amendment will hereafter be the sole authority for procuring stationery, vehicles, computers, photocopy machines and office equipment including furniture and in future individual state institutions will not be allowed to make such purchases.
The Cabinet paper presented by President Sirisena states that the bulk purchases will be more economical when compared with the present practice of purchasing them in smaller quantities.
“A large amount of money, allocated under capital or recurrent expenditure annually, except debt repayment, is spent either for construction under various development projects and for buying equipment by government institutions,” the President said.
The entire procurement process including the purchase of goods and services by government institutions under capital and recurrent expenditure as well as the purchase of petroleum by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is carried out in compliance with the provisions contained in the “Government Procurement Guidelines” issued in 2006.
According to ‘Government Procurement Guidelines, President Sirisena said several procurement committees and technical evaluation committees have to be set up for the purchase of goods and services when it could be done through a single procurement committee.
"There is an ample scope for avoiding unnecessary expenses and waste, frauds and irregularities by rationalizing and easy monitoring of the procurement process," the President said.
The President said he and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were of the opinion that a more efficient and effective procurement mechanism should be introduced to replace the current procurement process
Other members of the Commiittee are -- former ministry secretary and former deputy treasury secretary Lalith R. de Silva; former ministry secretary Dharani S. Wijayatilake former additional ministry secretary and former director general of the public finance deprtment, W.D. Jayasinghe. The Director General of the Department of Public Finance will act as Convener / Secretary to the Committee. (Sandun A Jayasekera)
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