A NEW BUREAU TAKES ON THE CONTRACTS COMMITTEE MANTAL, PROMISES TO SERVE DILIGENTLY

Today marked the end of the 6-year tenure of the outgoing contracts committee chaired by KW-GM Mr. Mahmood Lutaaya. In his hand over remarks, Mr. Lutaaya thanked the Board and Management for the opportunity of presiding over the roles and functions of the committee. Mr. Lutaaya reiterated how the role came with a lot of learning opportunities and challenges for him and his colleagues on the committee. He thanked his outgoing team for being focused and resilient in executing the roles assigned to them. He concluded his remarks by urging the incoming team to always reach out to the outgoing committee for guidance where need arises and also hoped that they can even perform better than their predecessors.

Senior Manager Procurement Nable Asimwe Byaruhanga in her remarks also thanked the outgoing committee for having executed its roles diligently and called upon the incoming committee to pick up from where their predecessors had stopped. Mrs. Byaruhanga went on to outline the structure, functions and powers of the Contracts committee as clearly stipulated below;

The contracts committee consists of a chairperson, Secretary, and other three members, out of the three members its mandatory that one of them is of a legal background. The members of the entity that cannot be part of the contracts committee include the head of Procurement and Disposal Unit, The Head of Finance and the staff of the department of internal audit.

The key functions of the contracts committee are;

I. To adjudicate the recommendations from the PDU and awards of contracts.

II. Approving evaluation committees.

III. Approving negotiation teams.

IV. Ensuring that before any procurement is approved and it is in accordance with the procurement plan.

V. Approving bidding and contract documents.

VI. Assessing and verifying the public assets identified by the user Department or by the board of survey for disposal.

VII. Causing the assets which have been identified by the board of survey or the user department to be valued in accordance with the regulations made under this act.

VIII. Approval of reserve prices for public assets to be disposed off.

IX. Approval of procurement and disposal procedures.

X. Ensure that best practices in relation to procurement and disposal are strictly adhered to by the Procurement Disposal Entities.

XI. Ensure compliance with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

XII. Liaise directly with the authority on matters within its jurisdiction.

XIII. The contracts committee is also supposed to make a report in respect of activities that have been highlighted under disposal and submit the reports to the accounting officer for approval.

The powers of the contracts committee

I. Authorization of the choice of a procurement and disposal procedure.

II. Authorizing solicitation documents before issue.

III. Authorizing technical, financial or combined evaluation reports.

IV. Authorizing contract documentation in line with the authorized evaluation reports.

V. Authorize any amendments to an awarded contract.

VI. Recommend for the delegation of a procurement or disposal function by the accounting officer whenever the necessity arises.

VII. Award contracts in accordance with applicable procurement or disposal procedures as the case may be.

Incoming committee chairperson DIBS, Mr. Jude Mwoga thanked the board and management for the trust and confidence that has been given to the new committee to manage the function of the contracts committee. He committed that his team will take on the large task at hand to contribute to the stakeholder value in terms of executing the functions and roles of the contracts committee. He thanked the outgoing contracts committee for the six years they dedicated to the very important function and enabling the corporation to deliver services. Mr. Mwoga reiterated that the incoming committee will continue to call on the outgoing committee for advice and guidance where need arises.

He urged the new members to hit the ground running in executing the functions of the contracts committee and emphasized that the new team is excited and more than ready to take on the tasks that lie ahead.

DMD Finance and Corporate strategy, Mrs. Silvia in her brief remarks expressed utmost gratitude to the outgoing contracts committee for a job well done. “I have had a lot of interactions with this team and I can authoritatively state that they have really done us proud. This has been a very vibrant and vigilant and committed committee hence registering a good performance as an organization despite the challenges of the pandemic.” Stated Mrs. Silvia. She concluded her remarks by urging the incoming team to seek counsel and mentorship from the outgoing team until they are grounded in their new roles and endeavor to perform better.

NWSC MD, Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha in his remarks to those present thanked the outgoing members and also welcomed the incoming members of the contracts committee. “This should not be a committee of complicated people however it should be a committee of enablers; management will not interfere with your work however as an accounting officer I also have responsibility of making sure things are enabled.” Stated Dr. Eng. Mugisha. He also urged the incoming team to ensure that the contracts committee is run in such a way that service delivery is enabled in the organization as he concluded his brief remarks.

The handover ceremony was crowned with handing over of instruments of power from the outgoing Chairperson KW-GM Mr. Mahmoood Lutaaya to his successor DIBS Mr. Jude Mwoga.

Also, in attendance was;

SM WPD, Mr. Andrew Muhwezi.

Manager Legal HQ, Mr. Aloysious Kiajuka.

Member and Advisor to CC. Mr. J.B Ntanzi

Manager Applications Development and Business support, Mr. Peter Mutungire.

Principal Procurement Officer, Mr. Martin Busulwa.

Principal Procurement Officer Norah Nyanganda

SM WQ, Dr. Irene Nanansubuga.

Manager External Services Mrs. Zainab Mpakiraba.

Procurement Officer Ms. Pauline Musimenta.

Compiled by: Raymond Musinguzi