Professional procurement officers in the public and private sector will add value to Rwanda’s procurement sector, Kampeta Sayinzoga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, told The New Times.

She was appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Budget and Patrimony to defend a draft law that seeks to professionalize procurement this morning.

 "The added value of this [new] law is that, it actually brings standards and professionalism in the procurement sector for both public and private circles,” said Kampeta.

Once enacted, the law is expected to close the loopholes that have been prevalent in public procurement sector where, according to the Auditor-General, about thirty percent of tenders awarded by public entities do not comply with procurement guidelines.

The new law will strengthen the existing legislative framework that governs public procurement by streamlining all the institutional and legal frameworks governing procurement management.

According to the Auditor General’s report covering the period between August 2012 and June 2013, more than Rwf23 billion was lost in poor contract management procedures, while nine contracts, worth Rwf908 million, were abandoned by contractors.

In a recent interview with The New Times, Augustus Seminega, the Director General of Rwanda Public Procurement Authority, blamed procurement errors on low skill levels, lack of experience and laxity among procurement officers.

Article 2 of the new draft law say that the profession of procurement shall be entrusted with persons who have knowledge, governed by ethical rules and international best practices and those who have chosen to practice it under supervision of a professional body in charge of establishing a code of professional practice.