Advanced Training in Public Procurement
Between the 14th and 18th of December a four-day workshop in Public Procurement Capacity took place in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). The event was organised by Equinoccio in cooperation with the CARIFORUM Directorate.
The programme came at a very appropriate time given the discussion in Trinidad and Tobago on the implementation of the reform process. The course was attended by 20 participants from various ministries and state owned enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago all of which will be directly affected by the reform process. The course provided an opportunity to discuss the current reforms within a broader context of trends in international best practice and developments within the region in the shape of the CSME proposals on Public Procurement and the December 2015 draft law of the CSME as well as the commitments under the EPA with the EU.
Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Woolcock and regional expert Adrian Chin, practitioners and policy-makers were exposed to developments in the field, including the tools to develop professional procurement as well as international best practices within which national procurement policies operate.
Among others, subjects of the course included: tools to better understand the role of public procurement; an awareness of the benefits and costs associated with public procurement reform; knowledge of international norms and rules in public procurement policy and how these norms and international best practices are shaping approaches to public procurement in the CARICOM Single Market Economy (CSME) in the context of the EPA. As well as setting procurement reform in the wider context the course also discussed the latest developments in Trinidad and Tobago and the practical steps needed to modernise public procurement.
It is expected that the Capacity-Building Project will enable CARIFORUM Member States to meet their EPA commitments in the areas of Competition, Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation and will contribute to their beneficial integration in the world economy.
The CARIFORUM/EU Capacity-Building Project is being implemented by a consortium led by Equinoccio (Spain) and includes the London School of Economics (LSE), SGS and Maastricht School of Management (Netherlands).