Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has said there will be openness, budgetary discipline, improved service delivery with the new public procurement regime introduced by his administration.

Governor Okowa made the clarification yesterday in Asaba while declaring open a two-day sensitisation workshop for top level of public servants on the new public procurement regime in Delta State.

According to the Governor who spoke through his Special Adviser on Urban Renewal, Rt. Hon. Basil Ganagana, “The vision is to restore prompt service delivery, transparency, competition, integrity and value for money in the award and execution of public contracts and procurements of other services.”

“The enactment of the Delta State Procurement Law in 2016, is part of our desire and commitment to further entrench prudence in the management of our state resources, with the introduction of open competitive bidding, achieving long-term micro-economic stability, and added value for money spent. The law is to guide accessing Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including local governments, to ensure judicious spending of public funds,” Okowa said.

While noting that the workshop was necessary to deepen the knowledge of officers on the provisions of the Delta State Public Procurement Law 2016, Governor Okowa observed that Deltans deserve honest services from all officers who are entrusted with power.

”The vision is to restore prompt service delivery, transparency, competition, integrity and value for money in the award of and execution of public contracts and procurements of other services because, out interest is to restore openness, budgetary discipline, optimal cost-saving devices, efficient project implementation and improvement in service delivery,” he disclosed.

Director-General of Delta State Public Procurement Commission (DSPPC), Mr Joseph Okeze, had in his address, said: “Public procurements play important roles in determining the extent to which government’s social and economic targets will be attained.”

He commended Governor Okowa’s administration for embarking on far-reaching institutional, legal and regulatory reforms since he assumed office in 2015 for the effective execution of the SMART agenda, stating that the workshop will introduce and interpret the major provisions of the Delta State Public Procurement Law and to understand the basic principles and practice of procurement.