The government has directed all its Ministries, Agencies and Departments to procure grain from only certified and accredited suppliers.
Speaking at the Uganda Media Center, Evelyn Anite, the State Minister of Finance in charge of Privatization and Investment, said the government has overtime worked towards controlling and improving the quality of grain and grain products traded on the Ugandan and Regional markets.
She revealed that this is in tandem with the National Grain Trade Policy of 2015 that requires all public entities to procure grain and grain products from providers certified by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
She noted that Uganda’s grain and grain products form a major commodity traded within the East African Community and beyond, However, the products have often times been rejected across the frontiers due to poor post-harvest management practices, among other quality issues.
“Therefore, there is need to enforce compliance to grain and grain product standards to protect human and animal health and to promote cross border trade,” she said.
She revealed that the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has developed various standards for a range of grains and grain products where over 630 providers have been certified across the country for maize products with production capacities estimated at over 217,000 tons per month.
“The list of the certified providers is accessible on the UNBS portal, unbs.go.ug,” she said.
PPDA Executive Director, Benson Turamye said the move is in line with the PPDA Act cap 205, revealing that many government entities involved in procurement of grains will be mandated to deal with certified suppliers only.
“The main thrust of this guideline is that all government entities shall procure grain and grain products from providers certified by UNBS. The issuance of the guidelines is anchored on section 134 of the PPDA Act Cap 205 which empowers the PPDA to issue and gazette guidelines for the better carrying out of the functions of public procurement in the country,” he said.
He revealed that the guideline is available on the PPDA web portal and is to be distributed to all Accounting Officers who are responsible for distributing copies of to the contract’s committees and members of the procurement and disposal units of their respective entities.
“The guideline shall apply to all government procuring and disposing entities from 23rd August 2024 save for primary and secondary schools that will apply it from January 2025,” he added.