Page 94 - JSIF Magazine Approved-v2-web4

Procurement Best
Practices at JSIF
By Suzette Livermore, Procurement Manager, JSIF
& Dwight Ricketts, Senior Manager, Field Operations, JSIF
The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) is a Government
of Jamaica (GOJ) affiliated organization spending loan or grant
funds and so, must follow GOJ procurement procedures. Also
because it is using donor funding, it must adhere to the donors’
procurement guidelines. Given this multi-tiered reporting
situation it means that JSIF must be efficient, transparent and
accountable because it is reporting to multiple sources.
In order to fulfil these demanding requirements, JSIF has over
the years built an effective and efficient Procurement Unit.
The Unit is overseen by the General Manager Finance and
Procurement and the team members consist of a Procurement
Manager, three (3) Procurement Officers, two (2) Evaluation
Officers and an Administrative Officer.
Garbage truck procured by JSIF and presented to the National Solid Waste
Management Authority (NSWMA).
JSIF is currently implementing projects using funds from
the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), the World Bank (WB), the
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the European Union
(EU) and the PetroCaribe Development Fund (PDF). With the
exception of the PDF that uses the GOJ Guidelines, all other
funders require that JSIF use their procurement guidelines
and procedures for the projects they fund. JSIF’s Procurement
Unit has over the years worked to ensure that despite the
consideration and incorporation of varying guidelines and
procedures, i.e. GOJ and the various international funders, JSIF
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has never had an incident of mis-procurement, which is when a
contract has been awarded otherwise than in conformity with
the funder’s or GOJ’s procurement rules and regulations. The
Unit uses procurement best practices while ensuring that the
guidelines and procedures of all stakeholders are adhered to.
In performing their functions, the members of the Procurement
Team ensure that in addition to adhering to donors’ guidelines;
the Contractors, Consultants and Suppliers, provide the
relevant documents required for them to be responsive to a
procurement opportunity.
JSIF hosts workshops for its stakeholders advising them
of current opportunities to bid on jobs and what is required
from them. Stakeholders are also given an opportunity to
share experiences, concerns and issues they encounter while
engaging with JSIF and this feedback is dealt with in an
efficient and responsive manner, while ensuring that guidelines
are not breached. In an effort to ensure that all guidelines are
adhered to, and that the procurement process is transparent
and equitable, reports for all procurement opportunities
received by the Procurement Unit are tabled at an internal JSIF
Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) meeting. Subsequent to being
tabled at BEC, the projects, based on their value, are tabled at
the Procurement and Contracts Committee (PCC) meeting, the
National Contracts Commission or Cabinet (NCC) and when
projects require prior approval to the international donors.
Contractors seminar where JSIF advises of the guidelines that need to be followed
when working on a project for the Fund.