10.       Procurement planning ( amended as per G.N. No.71 of 2008)

 

            Directive 22 of 2015; Directive 25 of 2015;

 

(1)        A public body shall engage in procurement planning in order to ensure that procurement is carried out within financial estimates allocated to it.

 

(2)        A public body shall, in respect of every investment project, prepare a master procurement plan to cover the entire life of the project.

 

(3)        A public body shall, at the beginning of every financial year, prepare an annual procurement plan which shall include –

 

            (a)        the type and quantity of the goods, works or services to be procured;

 

(b)        the timing and implementation of the procurement;

 

(c)        an indication of possible packages of procurement, and their value;

 

(d)        an indication of possible pre-qualification proceedings and procurement methods to be used;

 

(e)        such other information as may be required in accordance with instructions issued by the Policy Office.

 

(4)        A public body shall publish on its website an annual procurement plan and periodically update and revise it.

 

(5)        In planning procurement for a major contract, a public body shall take into account the following –

 

                        (a)      identification and assessment of the need for the procurement;

(b)      designation of procurement planning team;

 

(c)      conducting market research in order to identify various technical solutions, in particular in the commercial market, to identify the range of available suppliers, and to determine the most favourable contractual and guarantee terms available in the commercial market that would be suitable for procurement;

 

(d)      identification of the amount and sources of financing;

 

(e)      studying acquisition history for similar goods, works or services;

 

(f)       defining and describing the procurement requirements;

 

(g)      estimate of the cost of a proposed procurement;

 

(h)      possible aggregation of procurement requirements, taking into account factors such as achieving economies of scale in purchasing, optimising use of procurement and contract administration resources;

 

(i)       possible slicing of the procurement into lots, provided that such slicing is not done to avoid thresholds beyond which more competitive procurement methods may be used, and where such slicing is indicated by factors such as whether an approach would provide the best overall value for the public body, possibility of technical compatibility regarding items purchased in separate lots, the possibility of allowing bidders to bid for individual lots or for the entire package, and measures to promote participation by small enterprises;

 

(j)       the availability of any procedures for procurement of common-use items;

 

(k)      selection of contracting approach and structure, including verification of possible availability of framework or indefinite quantity contract arrangements for the item in question;

 

(l)       selection of appropriate procurement method in accordance with sections 15 to 25 of the Act, and the reasons for use of a procurement method other than open bidding, and any possible combination and package of task or contract; and

 

(m)       determination and identification of required contract administration resources and responsibility.

 

            (6)        A public body may establish a Committee of Needs in accordance with instructions issued by the Policy Office, to plan any individual procurement identified in its annual procurement plan.