South Sudan govt, World Bank hold training in procurement
September 10, 2007 (JUBA ) — Southern Sudan government and World Bank organize a five-day training in procurement for GoSS officials to ameliorate the management of public funds, the World Band said.
Some 80 officials invited from various government institutions and parastatal bodies began a five-day training in procurement on Monday September 10. The workshop is jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the World Bank administered Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan (MDTF-S).
Lack of capacity to manage procurement issues has been partly blamed for the slow pace of project implementation in Southern Sudan. The Director General for Procurement in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Christopher Lobojo, told the participants that a central challenge for the GoSS has been to put in place fiduciary mechanisms that will ensure that government’s programs and projects will be developed and implemented in a manner that ensures that government and donor resources are used properly for the intended purposes with due care to economy and efficiency.
Lobojo hopes that in the next two to three years a culture of procurement based on transparency, efficiency and economy will be in place. The Acting Manager of the World Bank Sub-Office in Juba, Fred Yankey acknowledged the government cooperation in organizing the workshop. According to him, the World Bank holds good governance to be a vital plank in successful development and nation building in which proper procurement principles and practices play a key role.
The workshop is being facilitated by the Addis Ababa based World Bank Procurement Specialist for Sudan and Ethiopia, Richard Olowo and David Rudge of the World Bank Sub-Office in Juba. One of the key resource persons is Jean-Jacques Raoul. He has been the World Bank Regional Procurement Manager for Africa but currently works as a procurement consultant for the Bank.
(ST)