This is the version of this Act as it was from 17 January 2003 to 9 February 2006. Read the latest available version.
Uganda
Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003
Act 1 of 2003
- Published in Uganda Gazette 3 on 17 January 2003
- Assented to on 19 December 2002
- Commenced on 21 February 2003 by Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (Commencement) Instrument, 2003
- [This is the version of this document as it was from 17 January 2003 to 9 February 2006.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title and commencement
2. Application of the Act
3. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“Accounting Officer” means the Accounting Officer of a procuring and disposing entity so appointed by the Secretary to the Treasury, and for the avoidance of doubt includes the Accounting Officer of a Local Government or a statutory body;“Authority” means the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority established in section 5 of this Act;“award” means a decision by a Tender Board established under the Local Governments Act, 1997 or Contracts Committee provided for in paragraph (b) of section 24, or any other subsidiary body of a procuring and disposing entity to which a Contracts Committee or a Tender Board may delegate powers of adjudication and award within a specified financial threshold, to determine the successful bidder;“best practices” means the industry standards defined in this Act;“bid” means an offer to provide or to acquire works, services or supplies or any combination thereof, and shall include pre-qualification where applicable;“bidder” means a physical or artificial person intending to participate or participating in public procurement or disposal proceedings;“bidding documents” means solicitation documents;“Bid Notice” means any advertisement by which eligible providers are invited to submit written offers to provide or acquire works, services and supplies, or any combination of them in case of procurement and disposal respectively;“contract” means an agreement between a procuring and disposing entity and a provider, resulting from the application of the appropriate and approved procurement or disposal procedures and proceedings as the case may be, concluded in pursuance of a bid award decision of a Contracts Committee or any other appropriate authority;“Contracts Committee” is the committee provided for under Part III of this Act;“Contractor” means a provider as defined in this Act;“corrupt practice” includes the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement or disposal process or in contract execution;“currency point” has the meaning assigned to it in the First Schedule;“Defence and National Security organs” means Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons Service, Intelligence Services and National Security Council;“disposal” means the divestiture of public assets, including intellectual and proprietary rights and goodwill, and any other rights of a procuring and disposing entity by any means, including sale, rental, lease, franchise, auction, or any combination however classified other than those regulated by the Public Enterprise Reform and Divestiture Statute, 1993;“disposal process” means the successive stages in the disposal cycle, including planning, choice of procedure, measures to solicit offers from bidders, examination and evaluation of those offers and award of contract;“emergency” means circumstances which are urgent, unforeseeable and not caused by dilatory conduct;“foreign provider” means a provider whose business is not registered in Uganda:“fraudulent practice” includes a misrepresentation of facts in order to influence a procurement or disposal process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of the procuring or disposing entity, and includes collusive practices among bidders prior to or after bid submission designed to establish bid prices at artificial non-competitive levels and to deprive the procuring and disposing entity of the benefits of free and open competition;“guidelines” means directives issued by the Authority under section 97 of this Act;“industry standards” means those standards defined and codified by internationally recognized providers’ associations and professional bodies in the respective fields and includes best practices;“listed provider” means a provider registered by the Authority in accordance with this Act;“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Finance;“national provider” means a provider registered in Uganda and wholly owned and controlled by Ugandans;“pre-qualification” means a screening process designed to ensure that invitations to bid are confined to capable providers;“procurement” means acquisition by purchase, rental, lease, hire purchase, licence, tenancy, franchise, or any other contractual means, of any type of works, services or supplies or any combination;“Procurement and Disposal Unit" means a division in each procuring and disposing entity responsible for the execution of the procurement and disposal function;“procurement process” means the successive stages in the procurement cycle including planning, choice of procedure, measures to solicit offers from bidders, examination and evaluation of those offers, award of contract, and contract management;“procuring and disposing entity” means a statutory body, department of the central government, local government and any other body or unit established and mandated by government to carry out public functions;“provider” means a natural person or an incorporated body including a consultant, contractor or supplier licensed by a competent authority to undertake business activities;“public funds” means monetary resources appropriated to procuring and disposing entities through budgetary processes, including the Consolidated Fund, grants and credits put at the disposal of the procuring and disposing entities by foreign donors; and revenues generated by the procuring and disposing entities;“resident provider” means a provider registered in Uganda who is not a national provider;“services” means any object of procurement or disposal other than works and supplies, and includes professional, non professional and commercial types of services as well as supplies and works which are incidental to, but not exceeding the value of those services;“specifications” means the description of an object of procurement or disposal in accordance with national and international standards adopted and approved by the Authority, after consultation with the National Bureau of Standards, or other appropriate trade associations and professions, the use of which shall be mandatory in all bidding documents;“solicitation documents” means bidding documents or any other documents inviting bidders to participate in procurement or disposal proceedings; and includes documents inviting potential bidders to pre-qualify, and standard bidding documents;“supplies” means goods, raw materials, products, equipment or objects of any kind and description in solid, liquid or gaseous form, or in the form of electricity, or intellectual and proprietary rights as well as works or services incidental to the provision of those supplies where the value of the works or services does not exceed the value of the supplies;“tender” means “bid”;“User Department” means any department, division, branch or section of the procuring and disposing entity, including any project unit working under the authority of the procuring and disposing entity, which initiates procurement and disposal requirements and is the user of the requirements; and“works” means any work associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair, or renovation of a building or structure, on the surface or underground, on and underwater, and includes the preparation, excavation, erection, assembly, installation, testing and commissioning of any plant, equipment or materials, decoration and finishing, turnkey projects, build own and operate projects, build operate and transfer projects or any arrangement of this nature, or any other form of private and public partnerships or joint development activities, all or any of which may include management, maintenance, testing, commissioning and training; as well as supplies or services incidental to those works where the value of the incidental supplies or services does not exceed the value of the works.4. International obligations
Part II – The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority
5. Establishment of the Authority
6. Objectives the Authority
The objectives of the Authority are to—7. Functions of the Authority
The functions of the Authority are to—8. Powers of the Authority
In the exercise of its regulatory functions, the Authority shall have the power to—9. Action on recommendations of the Authority
10. Establishment of the Board of Directors
11. Composition of the Board
12. Conditions of service of the Board members
The Minister, in consultation with Cabinet, shall determine the terms and conditions of service of the members of the Board save for the Executive Director.13. Tenure of Board members
The tenure of the Board members save for the Executive Director shall be four years and they may be reappointed for only one further term.14. Meetings of the Board
15. Committees of the Board
16. Termination of office of Board members
17. Appointment and functions of the Executive Director of the Authority
18. Other staff of the Authority
19. Funds of the Authority
20. Management plan and budget
21. Accounts and audit
22. Reporting
23. Internal audits and periodic audit reports
Part III – Procuring and disposing entities
24. Composition of procuring and disposing entities
For the purpose of this Act, a procuring and disposing entity shall be composed of—25. Powers of a procuring and disposing entity
26. Accounting Officer
The Accounting Officer of a procuring and disposing entity shall have overall responsibility for the execution of the procurement and disposal process in the procuring and disposing entity, and in particular, shall be responsible for—27. Composition of a Contracts Committee
28. Functions of a Contracts Committee
A Contracts Committee shall be responsible for—29. Powers of a Contracts Committee
A Contracts Committee shall—30. Composition of a Procurement and Disposal Unit
A procuring and disposing entity shall cause to be established a Procurement and Disposal Unit staffed at an appropriate level.31. Functions of a Procurement and Disposal Unit
A Procurement and Disposal Unit shall—32. Powers of a Procurement and Disposal Unit
A Procurement and Disposal Unit shall have the powers to—33. Disagreement between a Contracts Committee and a Procurement and Disposal Unit
34. Functions of the User Department
35. Powers of the User Department
In the exercise of its functions a User Department shall—36. Disagreement between a Procurement and Disposal Unit and a User Department
37. Evaluation Committee
38. Independence of functions and powers
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Accounting Officer, the Contracts Committee, the Procurement and Disposal Unit, the User Department and the Evaluation Committee shall act independently in relation to their respective functions and powers.39. Delegation of powers by the Accounting Officer
An Accounting Officer may delegate the procurement or disposal function of the procuring and disposing entity to—40. Third party procurement and disposal
41. Records of a procuring and disposing entity
42. Defence and National Security Organs
Part IV – Basic public procurement and disposal principles
43. Application of the basic principles of public procurement and disposal
All public procurement and disposal shall be conducted in accordance with the basic principles set out in sections 44 to 54 of this Act.44. Non-discrimination
A bidder shall not be excluded from participating in public procurement and disposal on the basis of nationality, race, religion, gender or any other criterion not related to qualification, except to the extent provided for in this Act.45. Transparency, accountability and fairness
All procurement and disposal shall be conducted in a manner which promotes transparency, accountability and fairness.46. Competition
Subject to this Act, all procurement and disposal shall be conducted in a manner to maximize competition and achieve value for money.47. Confidentiality
A procuring and disposing entity shall not, except when required to do so by an order of court, disclose any information where the disclosure would—48. Economy and efficiency
All procurement and disposal shall be conducted in a manner which promotes economy, efficiency and value for money.49. Ethics
All procurement and disposal shall be carried out in accordance with the Codes of Ethics that may be specified from time to time by the Authority.50. Preference and reservation
51. Open competitive bidding
A procuring and disposing entity shall use open bidding as the preferred method of procurement and disposal.52. Best evaluated bids
A contract shall be awarded to the bidder with the best evaluated offer ascertained on the basis of the methodology and criteria detailed in the bidding documents.53. Public accessibility
Copies of the Act, regulations, Guidelines, and forms made under this Act, standard bidding documents and decisions of the Authority shall be made accessible to the public by the Authority.54. Publication of opportunities and information
The Authority shall organize and maintain a system for the publication of data on public procurement and disposal opportunities, awards and any other information of public interest that may be determined by the Authority.Part V – Public procurement and disposal rules
55. Application of public procurement and disposal rules
All public procurement and disposal shall be carried out in accordance with the rules set out in this Part of the Act, any regulations and guidelines made under this Act.56. Records
57. Communication
58. Procurement and disposal planning
A procuring and disposing entity shall plan its procurement and disposal in a rational manner and in particular shall—59. Initiation of procurement or disposal requirements and confirmation of funding
60. Statements of requirements
All statements of requirements—61. Best practice and industry standards
Procuring and disposing entities shall at all times use industry standards defined and codified by internationally recognised trade associations and professional bodies in the appropriate fields.62. Solicitation documents
63. Selection of bidders
All methods for the selection of bidders to be invited to bid shall allow for fair and equitable selection and ensure maximum competition.64. Bidding period
The bidding period shall be sufficient to allow bidders to prepare and submit their bids and shall not be reduced with the aim of limiting competition.65. Clarification of solicitation documentation
66. Form of bids
A procuring and disposing entity shall require bidders to submit sealed written bids unless otherwise provided for in this Act or regulations made under this Act.67. Bid submission methods
The method for bid submission shall be prescribed by regulations made under this Act and shall be determined in the regulations by the type, complexity and evaluation method of the procurement or disposal being handled by the procuring and disposing entity.68. Withdrawal of bids
A bidder may withdraw his or her bid at any time before the deadline for bid submission unless otherwise prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under this Act.69. Bid receipt and openings
All bidding processes shall include a formal bid receipt and a bid opening.70. Basic qualification of bidders
A procuring and disposing entity shall require all bidders participating in public procurement or disposal to meet the qualification criteria set out in the bidding documents which in all cases shall include the following basic qualifications—71. Evaluation
72. Change in bid details
There shall not be any alterations or any changes in the substance of bids, including changes in price, after the date and time of bid closing, except as may be otherwise prescribed by regulations made under this Act.73. Clarification of bids received
A procuring and disposing entity may ask bidders for clarification of their bids in order to assist in an evaluation and to clarify details that were not apparent or could not be finalised at the time of bidding, in accordance with procedures prescribed by regulations made under this Act.74. Negotiations in accordance with regulations
Negotiations shall not be permitted except as prescribed by the regulations.75. Rejection of bids
A procuring and disposing entity may reject any or all the bids at any time prior to the award of a contract.76. Contracts
77. Change in bidders circumstances
Any change in the circumstances of a bidder during the procurement or disposal process that could materially affect the bidder’s capacity to execute the contract shall be immediately drawn to the attention of the Contracts Committee by the bidder.78. Prohibition of Public Officers
Public Officers shall not participate in the disposal process as bidders except where specific items are offered to the Public Officials of a procuring and disposing entity subject to—Part VI – Methods of procurement and disposal
79. Choice of procurement or disposal method
80. Open domestic bidding
81. Open international bidding
82. Restricted domestic bidding
83. Restricted international bidding
84. Quotation and Proposals
85. Direct procurement or disposal
86. Micro-procurement or disposal
87. Other methods of disposal of public assets
88. Selection of providers
The detailed procedures for selection of providers shall be prescribed by regulations.Part VII – Administrative review
89. Administrative review
A bidder may seek administrative review for any omission or breach by a procuring and disposing entity of this Act, or any regulations or guidelines made under this Act or of the provisions of bidding documents, including best practices.90. Review by the Accounting Officer
91. Review by the Authority
Part VIII – Miscellaneous
92. Protection from prosecution
No action shall lie against any member or staff of the Authority or a procuring and disposing entity for any act or omission done in good faith.93. Codes of conduct
94. Suspension of providers
A provider who does not comply with this Act, regulations or guidelines made under this Act, shall be suspended by the Authority from engaging in any public procurement or disposal function for a period to be determined by the Authority on a case by case basis.95. Offences and penalties
96. Regulations
97. Guidelines
The Authority may issue guidelines from time to time which shall be laid before Parliament and shall be Gazetted for the better carrying out of the objectives of and functions under this Act.98. Transitional provisions
99. Repeal of S.I. No. 64 of 2000
The Public Finance Procurement Regulations are repealed.History of this document
08 December 2023 amendment not yet applied
01 October 2015
03 March 2014
10 February 2006
21 February 2003
17 January 2003 this version
19 December 2002
Assented to
Cited documents 0
Documents citing this one 19
Gazette 14
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2003-03-14 number 12
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2005-05-27 number 28
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2006-01-27 number 6
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2006-05-05 number 27
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2006-07-14 number 42
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2008-01-25 number 6
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2008-10-03 number 50
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2009-07-31 number 36
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2011-01-14 number 2
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2013-04-05 number 16
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2014-02-14 number 9
- Uganda Government Gazette dated 2014-02-28 number 12
- Uganda Government Gazette supplement dated 2007-12-28 number 72
- Uganda Government Gazette supplement dated 2023-12-08 number 80
Judgment 5
- Dolamite Engineerings Services Ltd v Equity Bank (U) Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 110 of 2015) [2022] UGCA 281 (2 November 2022)
- Medical Equipment Consult Ltd v Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Assets Authority (HCT -00-CC-MC 6 of 2011) [2013] UGCommC 112 (4 June 2013)
- Prime Contractors Ltd v Inspector General of Government (Misc Cause No. 301 of 2013) [2013] UGHCCD 150 (11 November 2013)
- Roko Construction Limited V Public Procurement And Disposal of Public Assets Authority & Others (CIVIL APPEAL NO. 59 OF 2017) [2018] UGHCCD 137 (13 March 2018)
- Sozi Vs The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (Civil Suit No.063 of 2012) [2015] UGHCCD 65 (27 August 2015)