Open Competitive Tendering
Open competitive tendering is the default legal method for public procurement. It requires advertising the tender publicly in national newspapers and dedicated online portals, allowing any qualified supplier to submit a bid. This method maximizes competition, provides the highest level of transparency, and delivers the best market-driven prices.
Alternative Procurement Methods
While open tendering is preferred, specific operational circumstances justify alternative sourcing methods, subject to strict legal thresholds and written approvals:
- Restricted Tendering: Inviting bids from a pre-qualified shortlist of suppliers, used when the goods or services are highly specialized or complex.
- Direct Procurement (Single Sourcing): Awarding a contract to a single supplier without competition. This is tightly restricted to extreme emergencies (e.g., natural disasters) or situations where a supplier has exclusive patent rights.
- Request for Quotations (RFQ): A simplified method used for low-value, off-the-shelf items, requiring a minimum of three competitive quotes from registered merchants.
PFM Threshold Matrices
Financial regulations establish rigid threshold matrices that dictate which procurement method must be used based on the estimated monetary value of the contract. For example, purchases below a certain amount use an RFQ, while projects above that line must use open national or international competitive bidding.
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