Government levels procurement playing field

Enhancements to Zanzibar will end discrimination against small public sector suppliers, OGC claims

OGCbuying.solutions claims it has opened up competition on government contracts by improving the Zanzibar Supplier Agreement.

Revisions to the Zanzibar Supplier Agreement are in line with the government’s stated aim of creating a level playing field for all government suppliers and ensuring value for money, OGCbuying.solutions said.

Robert Knapman, director of eCommerce, OGCbuying.solutions, said: “The Supplier
Agreement was a potential barrier to competition, because among other things, it led to higher insurance costs for suppliers and may have discriminated against smaller suppliers.

“The revised Supplier Agreement is consistent with existing guidance about opening up competition for Government contracts."

Veera Johnson, chief executive of ProcServe, which helped develop Zanzibar, said: "By re-writing the Supplier Agreement we have been able to help the Office of Government Commerce deliver the public sector's value for money ethos.

"The new Agreement also means thousands of small and medium enterprises can readily access public procurement contracts on a level playing field with larger competitors.”

In March, chancellor Alistair Darling announced a government target of pushing 30 per cent of all public sector contracts through smaller contractors over the next five years (CRN, 17 March).