Government's Procurement of Goods and Services during COVID-19 Pandemic

7 Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what has been the framework for Government's procurement of goods and services to address the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) what proportion of such contracts, by dollar value, have been issued through the standard Government procurement system on GeBIZ; (c) what are the considerations when issuing contracts otherwise; and (d) what steps are taken to ensure that all enterprises can participate in such procurement opportunities so as to ensure provision at competitive prices and quality.

The Second Minister for Finance (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mr Deputy Speaker, the Government procurement framework calls for open sourcing through the GeBIZ platform as the default approach. However, the use of limited tenders or direct contracting is permitted under specific conditions, such as to protect public health, or for reasons of national security. These practices are aligned with international standards laid out in the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement.

To address the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation and avoid further worsening of the public health situation, Government agencies had to obtain necessary goods and services as quickly as possible. While the default approach continues to be open sourcing via GeBIZ, the urgency meant that, in some cases, it was not practical to do so. For such instances, the procedures under Emergency Procurement allow Government agencies to directly contract with suppliers who have the necessary expertise and resources, instead of going through open sourcing. For example, as we needed to quickly source for and fit out premises to house at-risk persons, and also secure essential medical supplies, the agencies concerned established direct contracts with the suppliers outside GeBIZ who were best able to meet the requirements within the shortest timeframe possible.

Similar Emergency Procurement practices are also adopted in other jurisdictions. For example, in Australia, the European Union, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, government agencies may directly award a contract without the need for open competition under emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 crisis.

The proportion of COVID-19 related procurement by dollar value through GeBIZ as compared with other modes is not yet available, as such procurement is still on-going. Agencies will continue to use the most appropriate approach that best balances urgency of need and value-for-money in our efforts to protect public health and cater for the social and economic needs of Singaporeans and businesses. As the situation improves and there is less time urgency, a larger proportion of procurement will be carried out through the default process of open sourcing via GeBIZ.

Regardless of the procurement approach taken, Government agencies are required to ensure proper evaluation is done and necessary approvals are sought. In the event that direct contracting is used, Government agencies are still expected to assess that the quotes from the suppliers are reasonable, by comparing against prevailing market benchmarks and taking into account the time constraints and world-wide market situation. As with all procurements, transactions done during this period are subject to audit and compliance reviews by relevant authorities.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Second Minister for the reply. I think we all know, one advantage of having procurement in GeBIZ is that it is automatically transparent. And this is very important to parties in the market because they can get some information about what is available and what market prices might even be and so on. Will the Government be able to commit to publishing at least some summary information of what has been done and what has been issued for Government procurement relating to COVID-19 needs some time soon so that players in the market can update themselves and understand better how they can best respond and provide more competitive services and goods to the Government in this crisis?

Ms Indranee Rajah: I thank the Member for his clarification. The truth of the matter is that if we all knew exactly when the virus decides to stop and when COVID-19 will stop, then we will be able to give a specific timeline on all the things we wish to do. But as we know, there is a possibility of second outbreaks, there is a possibility that it may not go the course we wish, in which event, Emergency Procurement will have to continue to take place.

So, the assurance that I can give is that best practices will be followed. As I have said earlier, we will make sure that the agencies still take proper evaluations and that they seek the necessary approvals, that they compare against the prevailing market benchmarks. And it is important to remember that all this is still subject to audit and compliance reviews. So, the framework for disclosure that we have in place will be complied with in due course. But if the question is whether we can do this very soon, the answer is I am afraid that the nature of this virus and the situation are such that it is not possible to say definitively one way or another.