The fact that a part of the OCG's mandate is to ensure compliance with the procurement guidelines, the OCG may therefore be involved from as early as or even before the tender is advertised by the agency, thereby ensuring that all the elements are included in the published Tender Advertisement.

By copy of a letter dated February 5, 2007, from the MOFP, the OCG was advised that "part of the mandate of the Procurement Policy Implementation Unit(PPIU) of [the] Ministry is the training of public procurement staff." In addition, the Ministry's letter also stated that the "PPIU has continued to train public entities on an identified need basis." As per our response to the MOFP, the OCG "deems it critical for Public Bodies to adhere to the Government Procurement Guidelines, and therefore believes it is imperative for these educational and enlightening workshop sessions to continue." We a

Some agencies post their advertisements on their own web sites. It may also be possible to find an agency's invitation to tender at http://www.procurement.gov.jm. 

Procuring Public Sector Bodies will be assigned a password re the notice board. This empowers each agency to log in and complete its own posting of advertisements. Public Body Procurement officers, or similar posts, who wish to use the Notice Board should send a request to [email protected]. An email detailing the steps for posting the ad will also be provided. The GOJ Procurement Notice Board is found at: http://www.procurement.gov.jm.

Public Sector entities may post their Invitations to Tender on contracts on the electronic procurement notice board. The board is not currently intended to replace advertising in the two major national newspapers, but rather to be used as a supplement. Using the board will reduce advertising costs, as entities may publish more concise advertisements in the papers, and refer interested parties to more detailed information on the board. The web site address is http://www.procurement.gov.jm.

The main purpose of the OCG is to provide resources for the Contractor-General in order that he may carry out his mandate as stated under the Contractor-General Act of 1983. These include human, administrative financial and physical resources. The OCG does not approve, endorse, recommend for award or award Government contracts. The OCG is also the secretariat for the National Contracts Commission.