(No. 3 of 2002)

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires –

“corrupt practice” includes the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any thing of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or in the execution of a contract;

3. The objectives of this Act are to provide a system for ensuring-

(a) transparent, efficient and economic public procurement;

(b) accountability in public procurement;

(c) a fair opportunity to all prospective suppliers of goods, works and consultancy services;

(d) the prevention of fraud, corruption and other malpractices in public procurement; and

(e) improvements in social and economic capacity in The Gambia, including providing opportunities for local small enterprises and individuals to participate in an economic manner as suppliers, contractors and subcontractors in public procurement.

15. (4) The Director-General shall devote his or her full time to the duties of his or her office and shall not hold any office of trust or profit, other than that of Director-General, or engage in any other occupation for reward outside the office of Director-General, except that, the Board may grant specific and time-limited waivers to this subsection if requested by the Director-General, and the Board makes a written determination that –

(a) it is in the best interest of the Authority; and

(b) there is no apparent or actual conflict of interest in such exceptional office or occupation.

28. (1) A public officer involved in requisitioning, planning, preparing and conducting procurement proceedings and administering the implementation of procurement contracts, shall –

(a) discharge his or her duties impartially so as to assure fair competitive access to public procurement by suppliers;

(b) always act in the public interest, and in accordance with the objectives and procedures set out in this Act and in the Regulations;

(c) at all times avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety in carrying out his or her duties and conducting himself or herself; and

(d) not commit or abet corrupt or fraudulent practices, including the solicitation or acceptance of improper inducements.

(2) A bidder shall not engage in or abet corrupt practices, including the offering of improper inducements, and fraudulent practices, the misrepresentation of facts, in order to influence –

(a) a procurement process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of the procuring organisation; and

(b) collusion amongst bidders, prior to or after bid submission, designed to establish bid prices at artificial non-competitive levels and to deprive the procuring organisation of the benefits of free and open competition.

(3) Any information concerning the planning or the occurrence of corrupt or fraudulent practice shall be reported promptly to the head of the procuring organisation, to the Authority and to the relevant law-enforcement authorities.

(4) A procuring organisation shall reject a bid if the bidder offers, gives or agrees to give an inducement referred to in subsection

29. (1) The Authority shall protect the Government from actual or potential harm by excluding a potential supplier or bidder from participation in public procurement for a minimum period of one year and a maximum period of five years after –

(a) reasonable notice to the supplier or bidder involved of the cause of the proposed action;

(b) reasonable opportunity for the potential supplier or bidder to respond to the proposed action; and

(c) consultation with the affected procuring organisation to consider all the facts of the case.

(2) A supplier or bidder shall not be excluded from participation in procurement except on the following grounds –

(a) refusal by a successful bidder to –

(i) sign a procurement contract, or

(ii) furnish a performance security, if required to do so in accordance with the terms of the bidding documents;

(b) provision of false information supplied in the process of submitting a bid;

(c) collusion between the bidders or a bidder and a public officer concerning the formulation of terms of reference or the bidding documents;

(d) connivance to interfere with the participation of competing bidders;

(e) misconduct relating to the submission of bids, including, corruption, collusion, price fixing, a pattern of under-pricing of bids, and breach of confidentiality;

(f) breach of contractual obligations under a procurement contract deemed serious enough to warrant debarment, provided that the breach was not due to circumstances beyond the control of the supplier or bidder;

(g) conviction of a criminal offence relating to obtaining or attempting to obtain a contract or subcontract; or

(h) conviction for an economic crime.