Author Archives: Geo Quinot

Steve Guppy

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Steve Guppy, is the Director of Procurement at Crown Agents, one of the world’s leading international development organizations specializing in public procurement and supply chain management.

Over the last 20 years, he and his team have worked alongside 12 African countries* to help strengthen national procurement systems.  The range of support they provide includes:

  • diagnostics and assessment
  • drafting/revision of procurement laws and regulations
  • advice on national architecture for public procurement
  • strategic planning and road mapping for reform
  • establishment of, and ongoing support to, regulatory/oversight bodies
  • preparation of operational guidelines, manuals and standard bidding documents/templates
  • capacity development, including supporting qualification and professionalisation of the procurement cadre
  • stakeholder engagement and sensitization
  • specific strategic procurement initiatives such as e-procurement, value for money assessment, compliance and performance monitoring, framework contracting and sustainable procurement

They have also provided technical assistance directly to institutions such as the African Union, African Development Bank and the United Nations to enhance the procurement systems and processes within those organisations.

*Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Frank Mante

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Frank Mante, Chief Executive Officer, Public Procurement Authority, Ghana

Frank Mante was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) in November, 2021, by His Excellency the President of Ghana. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Deputy Chief Executive -Technical/ Operations at the PPA in July, 2019 and was eventually appointed as Acting Chief Executive from August 2019 until his appoint as substantive Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining PPA, Frank served as the Procurement Director at the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Ghana and he was responsible for all the procurement and contract administration activities under the Power Compact (Compact II) with total procurement estimated at US$ 535million. Frank worked successfully with the support of the Procurement Agent, the Procurement Unit and the various project units in delivering the required results.

Frank also worked with Crown Agents Ghana Limited between 2012-2017 as the Project Procurement Manger, Team Leader and eventually Country Manager during which period, he provided procurement support to DFID, USAID, JSI, AfDB, Ecobank Group and many public institutions in Ghana.

Frank has over 25 years’ working experience in Ghana, the West African sub-region and the United Kingdom, having worked in different institutions. In addition to procurement, he has a background in banking, marketing/sales and he has lectured in procurement and supply chain management related courses in in the following  Universities in Ghana namely: University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Ghana Telecommunication University, Institute of Local Government Studies, University College of Management Studies among others.

Frank holds the following professional and academic qualifications: Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (FCIPS, CIPS-UK), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM-USA), Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CMILT,CILT-UK), Master of Laws (LLM) in Public Procurement Law and Policy at the School of Law, University of Nottingham, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing from the University of Leicester-UK, LLB from the Mountcrest University College, BA (Hons) in Banking, Economics with Law from London Metropolitan University, Diploma in Management (Banking & Finance) from the University of Leicester, Higher National Diploma (HND) in Purchasing and Supply and a Teacher’s Certificate ‘A’ from the Tamale Training College.

Frank is passionate about Sustainable Public Procurement from a developing country perspective.

Tania Perich Iglesias

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Tania Perich Iglesias, Director of ChileCompra, Chile

Ms. Tania Perich Iglesias is qualified as a Civil Engineer from the University of Chile, holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Adolfo Ibáñez University and is certified as Director by the Institute of Directors of London. Since October 2019, she has been ChileCompra´s national director, the agency responsible for the administration of Chile’s purchasing information system, www.mercadopublico.cl, through which more than 15 billion dollars annually are traded for purchases made by 850 public organizations and more than 100,000 trading suppliers.

During this period, Tania Perich has led the process of modernization of public procurement with emphasis on the opening of data for better completeness and greater understanding, promoting efficiency in contracting through new purchasing tools such as Compra Ágil, preferably aimed at micro and small businesses. Likewise, it has generated changes from the innovation and digital transformation of the platform with improvements in the Registry of Suppliers, Contract Management, Interoperability of systems with other State agencies, allowing to streamline and simplify processes, particularly access to information and payment management and a new model of framework agreement.

From the private sector, she served as Country Manager for Chile and later as Regional Vice President of SAP Ariba, a world leader in Digital Transformation and Technological Innovation, developing strategies and methodologies for the implementation of B2B e-commerce platforms.

She has also implemented strategies for the Management of Suppliers, Analysis and Administration of Expenditure and Strategic Planning in Supply Chain , among other instances within her more than 30 years of experience in industries such as Construction, Banking, Mining and Technology in the national and international market.

Faith Waigwa

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Faith Waigwa, Chairperson of the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board of Kenya

Ms. Waigwa is the Managing Partner and Head of Real Estate, Banking, Corporate and Commercial Department at NOW Advocates LLP. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya of over 15 years post admission experience in private practice and has cut her niche in her area of practice for having an eye for details.

She is highly experienced with vast knowledge having actively been involved in real estate, construction, infrastructure, energy, mining transactions and has an admirable capacity to handle complex legal matters that fall under her docket. Her tasks include transfer of proprietary interest, registration of encumbrances and inhibitions, project construction advisory, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) formation and management, securities advisory, contract and risk management, regulatory compliance, public procurement and asset disposal advisory, corporate restructuring, public private partnership advisory. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) (Hons) from the University of Nairobi and a postgraduate Diploma in Law from Kenya School of Law. She is currently a postgraduate student at the University of Nairobi pursuing a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) in Environment and Natural Resources Law; with a specific interest in Regulation of Power and Energy.  She is also a postgraduate student at Strathmore University pursuing a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) in Oil & Gas.

Outside the firm, Ms. Waigwa serves as the Chairperson of the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, a central independent procurement appeals review board under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015 of the Laws of Kenya and has previously held the position of the Vice President of the Law Society of Kenya and the Deputy Secretary General of the East Africa Law Society.

Patrick K. Wanjuki

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Patrick K. Wanjuki, Director-General, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority of Kenya

Mr Patrick K. Wanjuki took up the position of Director-General of the the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) on 1 April 2022. Prior to his appointment, he served as the general manager in charge of procurement and logistics at Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and in senior procurement division positions at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

He is a supply chain management professional with over 20 years of experience in Government and the private sector. He holds BCom and LLB degrees from the University of Nairobi as well as masters degrees from the University of Nottingham and the University of Nairobi. His masters’ thesis at Nairobi focused on “Fighting corruption in public procurement through implementation of article 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption: the case for Kenya in public procurement regulation”. At Nottingham, he concluded the executive LLM programme in Public Procurement Law and Policy.

Geo Quinot

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Geo Quinot, Professor, Department of Public Law, Stellenbosch University & Director, African Procurement Law Unit

Geo Quinot is trained in law, public administration and higher education. He is currently a Professor of Law in the Department of Public Law and the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University, South Africa as well as Founding Director of the African Procurement Law Unit (APLU). He is also admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa. Quinot teaches administrative law and public procurement law in the Law Faculty and the School for Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University. He also regularly instructs public administrators in both administrative law and public procurement regulation. His research focuses on general administrative law, including a particular focus on the regulation of state commercial activity such as public procurement as well as on legal education. He has published widely in these areas. He is the author, co-author and/or editor of eight book publications, the most recent of which are Public Procurement Regulation in Africa: Development in Uncertain Times, published by LexisNexis in 2020 and Administrative Justice in South Africa: An Introduction, the second edition of which was published by Oxford University Press in 2020. Quinot is a past editor-in-chief of the journal, Stellenbosch Law Review and the founding editor-in-chief of the open-access journal, African Public Procurement Law Journal. As an advocate, Quinot advises on matters relating to administrative law and especially public procurement law to both public buyers (organs of state) and suppliers to the state. Quinot obtained the degrees BA(Law) and LLB, both cum laude, at Stellenbosch University; LLM (Master of Laws) at the University of Virginia School of Law in the USA as a Fulbright scholar; MA (Master of Arts in Higher Education Studies) cum laude at the University of the Free State; MPA (Master in Public Administration) cum laude from the University of Birmingham in the UK and LLD (Doctor of Laws) at Stellenbosch University.

Workshop on Public Procurement Authorities

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On 7 April 2022, APLU, in collaboration with Crown Agents and the Open Contracting Partnership, hoste an open online workshop to discuss one of the recommendations on public procurement reform in South Africa, put forward by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (the Zondo Commission), viz. the creation of a Public Procurement Anti-Corruption Agency.

In brief, the Commission recommended:

“In the view of the Commission and for the reasons which follow, the appropriate starting point for any scheme of reform must include the establishment of a single, multi-functional, properly resourced and independent anti-corruption authority with a mandate to confront the abuses inherent in the present system. That authority could be called the Anti-Corruption Authority or Agency of SA South Africa (ACASA).”

Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report Part 1 (2022) par 664

This recommendation follows the proposal put forward in the draft Public Procurement Bill, published in 2020, for the creation of a Public Procurement Regulator.

Many other countries on the African continent and beyond have created public procurement authorities of various types. These provide rich experiences for South Africa to look at in considering the creation of a procurement authority of some sort.

This workshop hosted leaders from existing procurement authorities in Kenya, Ghana and Chile to share their experiences in setting up and running such entities. It will also create an opportunity for discussing the proposals put forward for creating such an entity in South Africa. More than 200 participants joined the workshop.

Information on the speakers, presentations and recordings of the sessions can be accessed here.

New study on gender equity in public procurement in South Africa published

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A major research study by APLU’s Prof Sope Williams-Elegbe on equity and inclusion of women-owned businesses in public procurement in South Africa has been published by the Open Contracting Partnership.

Equity report coverThe summary of the report states:

“South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to setting aside 40% of all government procurement for women-owned businesses (WOB). This report analyses the barriers and the opportunities for WOBs in the South African post-Covid-19 procurement system. In researching the report, we interviewed WOBs, procurement and supply chain managers, regulators, and other stakeholders, and we reviewed the main academic and policy literature on the inclusion of WOBs in public procurement in South Africa and beyond. The report also describes the legal and policy framework for preferential treatment in public procurement in South Africa, barriers to advocacy, and lessons from the Black Economic Empowerment framework, and it makes recommendations aimed at boosting WOBs’ participation in public procurement in South Africa.

The misalignment between South Africa’s economic, gender, and procurement policies and issues related to the focus on “black women” in the preferential procurement legislation is one of the policy and legal barriers. However, institutional and cultural barriers pose more of an obstacle to women’s participation in procurement. Public agencies are reticent to prioritise WOBs in the absence of an explicit mandate to do so and are reluctant to favour new market entrants and small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs).

Other barriers include the gendered impact of procurement corruption, the gendered impact of Covid-19, which has terminated public contracts in sectors serviced by WOBs, high rates of gender-based violence, and the complexity and opacity of the procurement process. In addition, WOBs in South Africa face financial limitations, inadequate contractor development initiatives, and an inability of the public sector to identify WOBs in relevant sectors.”

The report makes a number of key recommendations on enhancing woman-owned business’ participation in public procurement in South Africa:

  1. The South African government should create a comprehensive policy and regulations to implement gender-responsive procurement.
  2. The government should incorporate an inclusive definition of WOBs covering all women, in line with the International Organization for Standardization’s International Workshop Agreement definition.
  3. The government should implement measures to address transparency, complexity, capacity, and accessibility concerns.
  4. South African government entities should adopt a more integrated and long-term approach to the support and development of WOBs, including training for business owners and employees focused on “soft” skills, such as personal initiative training.
  5. South Africa needs an advocacy and awareness campaign to promote public understanding of the benefits of gender-inclusive procurement.

The report can be accessed on the Open Contracting Partnership website.

 

Public Procurement: Global Revolutions XI dates set for 2022 and call for papers out

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The Public Procurement Research Group (PPRG) at the University of Nottingham will in 2022 again host the major international conference on public procurement law: Public Procurement: Global Revolutions XI. The dates for the conference, that will take place in person in Nottingham, have been set for 13-14 June 2022.

PPRG GRXI

As in the past, APLU will support the PPRG in this major international event.

The call for papers has been published and can be accessed at this link.

Visit the conference website at www.grppconference.com for more information and updates.

New book focusing on public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Covid19 Book Cover 2021Hart Publishing published the title Public Procurement Regulation in (a) Crisis? Global Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in November 2021. The book was edited by Sue Arrowsmith, Luke RA Butler, Annamaria La Chimia and Christopher Yukins.

The book provides the first systematic analysis of global public procurement regulation and policy during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through both thematic chapters and national case studies, the book:
– explores the adequacy of traditional legal frameworks for emergency procurement;
– examines how governments and international organisations have responded specifically to the pandemic; and
– considers how the experience of the pandemic and the political impetus for reform might be leveraged to improve public procurement more broadly.

Public procurement has been critical in delivering vital frontline public services both in the health sector and elsewhere, with procurement of ventilators, protective equipment and new hospitals all hitting the headlines. At the same time, procurers have faced the challenge of adjusting existing contracts to a new reality where, for example, some contracted services can no longer operate. Further, efficient and effective procurement will be an essential, and not a luxury, in the economic recovery.

With case studies on Italy, the UK, the USA, India, Singapore, Africa, Latin America and China, the book brings together the world’s leading academics and practitioners from across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa to examine these issues, providing an essential resource for policy makers, legislators, international organisations and academics.

Several APLU researchers contributed to the work, including chapters focusing on the experience in Italy by APLU Fellow, Annamaria La Chimia and in Africa by APLU directors and fellow, Geo Quinot, Sope Williams-Elegbe and Kingsley Udeh.

The book can be ordered from the publisher’s website at this link.