Martinez says he supports the idea of a central procurement unit even if it slows down things a bit.
Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Economic Transformation
"No, the Central Execution Unit is an excellent idea. It is actually one that we have been contemplating for quite some time, actually from the time Senator Coye was the Minister of State. We have been talking about it from when I was the CEO because it will help for the government to purchase in bulk, and at the same time, it will help to get some additional discounts in that aspect. And it is very important as well that we have a limitation of procurement officers, which means that if you have a procurement system with the appropriate specialists, it will help big time."
"And I think that is an excellent option, one that we have conducted studies with IDB similar to the Central Executing Unit. Because the Central Executing Unit, which is different from the Central Procurement Unit, was established about three or four years ago when I was the CEO in the Ministry of Economic Development, and we did it with the intention of one, being able to retain the professionals, especially where we have limitations on professionals such as procurement officers, monitoring and evaluation, and project managers. So we have been conducting that study and I think that study is almost finished, so it is something that the Prime Minister has been working on for quite some time now."
We should note that the idea of a central procurement unit was first floated six years ago and nothing much has happened since.
