Chief Procurement Officers (CPO) from UN Peacekeeping Missions and other Secretariat offices, including the Procurement Division, met for a weeklong conference at the Regional Service Centre to discuss procurement policies and best practices, sustainable procurement, delegation of authority, and how to increase the number of successful bidders while fighting fraud in the UN secretariat procurement, among other topics.

Hosted by the Global Procurement Support Section (GPSS), the CPO conference was organized by the Procurement Division and was the first face-to-face conference after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is an opportunity for us to meet and discuss the future of procurement and address available challenges together,” said Neris M. Baez Garcia de Mazzora, Director, Procurement Division.

On the last day of the conference, 3rd November 2023, CPOs and representatives of the Procurement Division met with over 180 vendors from around the world in a hybrid seminar organized by the GPSS at the Regional Training and Conference Centre in Entebbe.

Speaking to participants, Paulin Djomo, Director RSCE, highlighted the benefits of such seminars to increase the knowledge of UN procurement, as evidenced by the success of the previous seminar held on 3^rd May 2023, which resulted in an increase in the number of Ugandan vendors who do business with the UN.

“Seize all the opportunities at your disposal and be competitive on the UN global market,” said Paulin Djomo, Director RSCE, in his opening remarks. “Take advantage of the Procurement Officers who are here and connect with them to learn what you can do to increase your chances of becoming good bidders.”

The Procurement Division reminded participants about the importance of registering in the UN Global Marketplace website and of keeping abreast of Expressions of Interest, and about the increasing use of the ARIBA e-Tendering - a platform that allows requisitioners, procurement staff, and bidders to orderly interact within one system to initiate and publish solicitations, receive and score submissions, notify vendors of awards, and capture all interactions related to the tendering process.

According to the GPSS operations in Uganda, the procurement volume of Ugandan suppliers doing business with the UN secretariat increased from $27.2 Million United States Dollars in 2019 to $33.0 Million in 2022.

The major commodities procured by the UN Secretariat, include Information and Communication Technology, fuels, air transport services, building and construction, food and catering services, ground transportation, security, and real estate, among others.

Representatives from Peacekeeping Missions and other offices, namely the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) also presented the volume of their procurement operations and their priorities for the years to come to the business community.

“We appreciate the insightful presentations and your dedication to exchange knowledge and ideas.

We are committed to maintaining the momentum generated during the seminar and are here to do business in any way we can.” A comment from one of the vendors who attended the Seminar.