Making lives better for our suppliers through a seamless procurement process
Bettering the lives of Ugandans by investing locally
HEAD OF PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL UNIT
Gerald Mugabi
Material Matters
Strategic Objectives
Stakeholders
Capitals
Risks
The Covid-19 pandemic plunged most countries into a recession in 2020. Although the global economy is sluggishly growing again, many things remain uncertain. NSSF has survived the shock due to investment in process automation, collaborative data which are triggers of efficiency and seamless services to customers. The Fund started the journey for procurement automation in 2016 and by 2020, the paperless environment guaranteed un interrupted processes in the lockdown. Procurement operations remained robust and we were able to support both internal and external clients.
The Government of Uganda deployed the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system on 17 August 2020. The Fund was selected as one of the benchmark sites for design and quality assurance of e-GP. In 2020, the Fund finalised the registration of all users and the transfer of departmental budgets and plans into the e-GP system. The level of success would have been higher if there were no challenges faced to integrate the e-GP with the Fund’s ERP system-JDE. It’s projected that by the end 2021, the procurement process will be fully automated.
Automation of the procurement process significantly impacted on reducing the cost of bidding to service providers. They are enabled to submit bids electronically and seek clarifications online.
During the financial year ended 30 June 2021, procurement held the first ever virtual Suppliers’ forum which was very successful. In effect, the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the requirement for social distancing gave us an opportunity to innovate and do even better. It must be noted that, the success of the event was driven by collaborative efforts among departments. In a bid to support remote working, we developed Procurement Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website, which assisted to self-serve on procurement procedures and regulation. The FAQs will be integrated in the Chat-bot to enhance its performance.
In addition, the Procurement Department concluded procurement of major projects worth UGX 139Bn during the FY 2020/2021 and monitored contract implementation worth UGX 786Bn. The Risk Department rated the department at 93% (2020: 89%). Similarly, internal audit rated the procurement function at 91%, the highest ever. The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Asset Authority recognised the Fund as the most compliant entity in the public disclosure of information on procurement and reporting requirements.
The outcome of these initiatives is reflected in the success of projects under implementation including Pension Towers, Off-Taker, Lubowa Housing Project, Works and Supervision of NSSF Temangalo Housing Project and Design and Build of Mbale Development Project. In sourcing of contractors, we promote ‘buy Uganda build Uganda’ policy. 92% of contracts worth UGX 56 Bn (2020 UGX 13.9 Bn) were awarded to local firms including the design and build of Mbale Development Project. When high value contracts are awarded to international firms, it is on condition that they subcontract to local firms up to 30%. We demand 40% of key staff to be Ugandans. We hope in the next five years we shall see a significant impact where national firms dominate the space for high value contracts.
The Fund has helped other organisations to improve their procurement processes and data analytics. After benchmarking with us, Uganda Clays Limited engaged the Head of Procurement NSSF to re-write their procurement guidelines and assist them in developing procurement metrics. The government consultant (system developer) for electronic government procurement system (e-GP) engaged procurement department to develop the e-GP dashboards.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda and Ministry of Gender requested assistance to improve their respective procurement processes.
Regardless of this impressive performance, Covid-19 created unprecedented challenges in the supply chain which negatively impacted the delivery of goods and works on time. We observed an increase in project costs, especially consultancy fees which was a consequence of delays in delivery of imported materials.
NSSF Head of procurement Gerald Mugabi and Rhona Kyomuhendo receive an award from Head of PPDA Benson Turamya for most compliant entity
A comprehensive due diligence on the international firm which won the tender for consultancy services to design Bwebajja Government Campus was not undertaken fully. This was due to lockdown restrictions, which prohibited site visits and formal discussions, which would have unveiled their weakness in the joint venture. However, after concluding the lengthy procurement process, they failed to sign the contract due to their internal disagreements.
Going forward, will focus on strengthening collaborations and partnerships both internally and externally to reduce process turnaround time. We shall continue to drive down the cost of acquisition of goods, works and services through market research and aggressive competition. Will continue searching for external partnerships to develop low cost housing models and encourage thorough due diligence on firms we contract to avoid the inherent third party risks to the Fund.
The Procurement team pose for a historical photo after the virtual Suppliers Forum