Barbados will update and improve its public procurement methodology in order to make it more efficient, transparent and accountable with a $5 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank.

The funds will support the modernization of the Barbados National Procurement System, a plan being implemented by the Finance Ministry in order to get more competitive prices and reduce process time while ensuring the integrity of the mechanism.

Under the program, both the legal framework and the institutions involved in the acquisition of goods and services for the state will be strengthened to ensure that those goals are met. State-of-the-art technology solutions will also be implemented to add reliability and speed to the process.

The program is also expected to facilitate the eventual adoption of harmonized procurement criteria among Caribbean Community member states.

The project consists of four components:

• Strengthening the legal framework supporting the preparation of a public procurement policy, regulations, standard documentation and, eventually, new procurement legislation.
• Improving operations and marketplace, including the establishment of the Procurement Policy Unit--a normative, regulatory body--, and institutional strengthening of key players such as the Central Purchasing Department, the Office of the Solicitor General, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Tenders and Special Tenders Committees.
• Strengthening institutional capacity by implementing a career stream in public procurement and launching special training programs.
• Upgrading the technological infrastructure, including the adoption of an e-tendering system to publicize opportunities and the results of tenders and procurement processes.

The IDB loan is for a 20-year term with a 5-year grace period, at a variable interest rate based on LIBOR. Local counterpart funding will total $950,000.