Entebbe, UGANDA (Sept. 12, 2019) – The Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) through the Vendors Service Line saved seven million one hundred fifty-nine thousand eight hundred and eighty-five US Dollars (US$7,159,885) through Prompt Payment Discounts (PPDs) over the period July 2018 to June 2019, marking an 18% increase from the previous year. In 2017/2018 financial year, savings were six million, forty-seven thousand nine hundred and thirty-four (US$6,047,934) 

PPDs are discounts that are availed by vendors in exchange for expedited payments. The discounts are negotiated at the time the United Nations Procurement teams are entering into a contractual obligation with the vendor.

The Centre processes almost 66,000 vendor invoices annually, both regular and PPD invoices, and has a tracking mechanism and a KPI that measures whether the availed discounts are realized or missed.

The rate of achievement of PPDs has remained at 97% between the fiscal year 2017/18 and 2018/19. The Chief of the Centre, Paulin Djomo, has been sharing with the Center’s client missions details of PPDs gained and lost, which mission Administrations have greatly appreciated. The Centre’s vendors service line communicates regularly with missions when PPD deadlines are approaching to avoid loss of Prompt Payment Discounts.

Asked whether the Centre can attain 100% availed PPDs, Josef Salani who is Section Chief of Financial Services at the Centre was confident that with closer collaboration between mission self-accounting units (SAUS) and the Centre’s vendors service line, it is possible to achieve 100%. He further mentioned that the Chief RSCE has, at the just ended workshop with mission Chief Budget and Finance Officers and Chiefs Human Resources Officers, assigned a mission PPD Key Performance Indicator of 10 calendar days, a move which will significantly improve the PPD achievement if enforced.

“Our commitment is to ensure the most efficient use of financial and physical resources available to us to ensure we achieve our KPI of 100% PPD. However, this can only be achieved if we receive certified invoices before PPD due date.” Josef Salani continued.

In an interview with the acting Service Line Manager for vendors service line, Daniel Joseph, he lamented that the biggest challenge they face is delays in the submissions of invoices to the Service Line but he is positive that with the newly established mission KPIs, the situation is bound to improve.

2017/18

PPDs gained - $6,047,934

PPDs lost - $183,977

2018/2019

PPDs gained - $7,159,885

PPDs lost - $211, 999