LAGOS PROCUREMENT AGENCY PARLEYS MEDICAL DIRECTORS OF HOSPITALS ON PROCUREMENT

In an attempt to ensure a better understanding of the public procurement procedures in the State Health Sector, the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency has held a roundtable discussion with stakeholders in the health sector

Speaking at the event held on Tuesday, the Director-General of the Agency, Mr. Fatai Idowu Onafowote reminded Medical Directors of the 28 General Hospitals and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) that as Accounting Officers, they have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the public procurement process of their various facilities.

The Director-General urged the Medical Directors to constitute functional Procurement Planning Committees comprising Heads of Departments and Units in their facilities, stressing that needs assessment is very crucial in procurement.

Mr. Onafowote pointed out that in recognition of the peculiarities of the operating environment of the health facilities where health emergencies involving human lives occur rather frequently, the Lagos State Public Procurement Law has provision for emergency procurement to take care of such emergencies.

He, however, stressed that the public procurement law does not permit a situation where all procurement made by health facilities in the State is treated as an emergency, adding that the health facilities must have their procurement plans and adhere to such plans.

He revealed that the Agency had secured the approval of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to onboard the procurement process of the 28 General Hospitals in the State as well as the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on the e-procurement platform of the State, adding that the integration of the procurement process of the health facilities on the e-procurement platform would facilitate transparency, accountability and enhance the ease of doing business with the health facilities.

Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Health Service Commission, Dr. Ademuyiwa Eniayewun enjoined the Medical Directors to always consult and engage with the Director-General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency and the Director of Procurement in the Commission to resolve any public procurement issues in their various facilities.

Dr. Eniayewun also charged the Medical Directors to develop short, medium and long-term plans to guide their public procurement activities.

Some of the Medical Directors who spoke at the event pointed out that their health facilities were being overwhelmed as a result of the large influx of patients from other States of the Federation who come to Lagos to enjoy the health initiatives of the Lagos State Government.

As part of the efforts to ensure that the deployment of the e-procurement system does not suffer any hitch, laptops, scanners and printers were distributed to the Procurement Officers of the health facilities at the event by the Agency.

The roundtable discussion was also attended by Accountants and Procurement Officers of the health facilities, including Pharmacists and representatives of the State Treasury Office, Office of Internal Audit and Office of State Auditor-General, among others.