Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, said, in Luanda, that the country plans to approve a law on sustainable public procurement, which will allow the State to align its procedures with long-term economic, social and environmental development objectives.
When speaking at the opening of the Seminar “50 years of Independence and 15 years of Rigor and Transparency in Public Procurement at the Service of National Development”, the Minister highlighted that public procurement must be seen as an instrument of public policy and not just as an administrative act.
“The challenge now is not just to do well; it is to do better. It is to consolidate a culture in which integrity is a non-negotiable institutional value, in which each kwanza is applied rigorously and in which each public procurement process makes the State worthy of citizens’ trust”, she stressed.
When projecting the next decade, Vera Daves de Sousa says that it is necessary to reinforce some essential pillars such as a continuous investment in the training and development of human resources, consolidation of digital transformation, with integrated and inter-operable platforms.
She also pointed out that it is necessary to effectively include micro, small and medium-sized companies in the public market and deepen accountability and control, as well as the integration of environmental and social criteria that make public purchases a driver of sustainability.
“The transformations we have witnessed over these 15 years were not mere technical or administrative changes, they represent a change in institutional culture”, she emphasized.
The Minister reinforced that, currently, the demand for rigor, the predictability of rules, the transparency of procedures and the accountability of public agents are no longer aspirations and have become hallmarks of the National Public Procurement System.
In her opinion, this path was not just made up of standards, it was made up, above all, of people, of technicians who studied, debated and implemented reforms, of public entities that adapted to new working methods.
She also cited economic operators who understood that competing with integrity is the only path compatible with sustainable development.
The Minister highlighted that the country has consolidated its public procurement system, with the evolution of the legal framework, since the first reforms in 2010, through the institutional transformation that gave rise to the National Public Contracting Service (SNCP), in 2015, until the legal regime of 2020, which profoundly modernized the procedures.
She explained that over this period the system became more cohesive, functional and more aligned with international standards of good governance.
“It’s not just about laws, it’s about a more reliable, more demanding and more results-oriented ecosystem. Among the structuring reforms, electronic public procurement stands out, which brought clear gains in transparency, speed and control”, she reinforced.
She added that the digitalization of procedures is “today an indispensable condition for reducing bureaucracy, reducing vulnerabilities and ensuring traceability at all stages of the public expenditure cycle”.
The Seminar “50 years of Independence and 15 years of Rigor and Transparency in Public Procurement at the Service of National Development” is part of the celebrations of its 15th anniversary.
The meeting aimed to highlight the main milestones achieved over these 15 years, highlighting the evolution of the public procurement system, the strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework, the advances made in digitalization and the use of technological platforms in the scope of public procurement.
The event brought together representatives of public and private institutions, strategic partners, sector experts and other guests, providing a space for reflection.
Source: ANGOP
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