Procurement processes have been sped up, with the usual open sourcing method sidestepped, in order to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak promptly, says Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong and Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday (June 5) in response to questions from Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh and Nominated MP Walter Theseira, the two ministers said this emergency procurement procedure was applied to the contracting of hotels, construction of various Covid-19 related facilities as well as the purchase of goods and services.

However, they noted, these procurements are being scrutinised by relevant agencies and approved by the Multi-ministry Taskforce for Covid-19, co-led by Wong.

Emergency procurement in light of Covid-19 situation

Theseira had asked about the procurement process of goods and services in the government's efforts of curbing Covid-19.

In response, Indranee said that while the default approach for procurement made by agencies is through open sourcing on the GeBIZ platform, it is not practical to continue to go through GeBIZ given the urgency Covid-19 presents.

Under the emergency procurement process, government agencies can directly contract suppliers who have the necessary expertise and resources to carry out tasks or provide materials needed in the shortest time possible.

Similar emergency procurement practices are being adopted in other jurisdictions in Australia and the European Union, she added.

That said, government agencies are still required to ensure there is proper evaluation and necessary approvals are sought.

All procurement transactions during this period will still be subject to audit and compliance reviews.

Tender for construction of Covid-19 facilities was waived but agencies are still accountable for use of public funds

Regarding the waiver of tenders for the construction of the Government Quarantine Facilities (GQF), Community Recovery Facilities (CRF) and Community Care Facilities (CCF), Wong repeated that the emergency procurement procedure allows tenders to be waived when there is insufficient time to follow the normal procurement rules.

But all the agencies recognise the need for accountability in the use of public funds, he added.

The government has benchmarked the quotes provided by hotel operators and negotiated for competitive rates, taking into account of the prevailing market conditions for such facilities.

Ready living accommodations were used to house Covid-19 patients as well, such as government chalets, army camps and student residences.

Setting up new facilities at Singapore Expo, Big Box, Changi Exhibition Centre as well as Tanjong Pagar terminal with beds and partitions was also done swiftly thanks to these emergency procurement processes.

"And we now know from experience that I think we did all this not a moment too soon, because we were able to get the capacity in place to look after quite a large number of infected patients without overwhelming our healthcare system.

Wong also said that in some cases, the agencies were able to get private sector companies to support the projects on a cost recovery basis.

MPs urge to involve more companies in the emergency procurement

Pritam also further questioned if the taskforce will consider more open tender processes to involve more companies in the fight against Covid-19, especially in future non-emergency procurement.

Wong replied that if the situation stabilise and conditions permit, the agencies will consider going beyond emergency procurement to get more quotes or even to contract via GeBIZ.

In a follow-up question, Theseira also asked Wong if the taskforce will revise the companies on this emergency procurement list to ensure price competitiveness and quality of goods and services.

Theseira highlighted that giving a chance for other enterprises to participate will also "help their bottom line out a bit" in light of the economic situation.

Wong assured that agencies "do not immediately go with one vendor" even in times of urgency like this and "a range of different suppliers are already being used" in the containment of Covid-19.

"But I think first and foremost, let's focus on the mission, and the mission is not over; the fight is still on. So we will do whatever is necessary to get the job done and to deal with the virus."

Top photo: Screenshot from CNA video and photo by Rexanne Yap