The public procurement process should not be manipulated for the benefit of any organization or individual. Given that public procurement is funded primarily with tax payers’ money, all eligible organizations and individuals should be allowed to participate by submitting offers in response to a specific requirement for which they are qualified.
Public procurement requirements should be widely disseminated to increase the chances of a good market response, leading to the award of competitively-priced contracts.
Despite this principle, not all contracts are awarded using a competitive process because this sometimes depends on the urgency of need and the resulting procurement method used to fulfill a specific requirement.
The use of non-competitive procurement methods, although justified under certain conditions, should be kept to a minimum. Examples of non-competitive procurement methods are: shopping (also called request for quotations or invitation to quote) and direct contracting (single/sole sourcing). Each of these non-competitive procurement methods have their purpose and should not be misused.
