(i ) Bid means an offer or proposal for goods and/or services submitted in response to a

government agency's invitation.

A bidder is someone who offers to pay a certain amount of money for something that is being
sold. If you sell something to the highest bidder, you sell it to the person who offers the most
money for it.

Bidding documents: means a document issued by the procuring entity, including any
amendment thereto, that sets out the terms and conditions of the given procurement and
includes the invitation to bid;

Award involves examination of the merits of the bids. This will identify which of the eligible
tenderers will deliver best value for money for the organisation, based on the Most
Economically Advantageous Tender, depending on the criteria agreed by the User
Intelligence Group.

Best practices are sets of methods and techniques that produce optimal results, increase
efficiency and develop structured processes. Many industries and professions use best
practices to streamline work and adhere to industry standards

(ii) Public procurement principles and disposal are the foundation of public procurement
and should be addressed in the public procurement rules. The public procurement principles
and disposal included the following:
Transparency in public procurement is important. Information on the public procurement
process must be made available to all public procurement stakeholders: contractors, suppliers,
service providers, and the public at large, unless there are valid and legal reasons for keeping
certain information confidential.

In public procurement integrity is twofold. There is the integrity of the procurement

process, and that of public procurement practitioners. Integrity is essentially reliability.
Bidders, and all other stakeholders, must be able to rely on any information disseminated by
the procuring entity, formally or informally.

Practitioners working within procuring entities, and other government officials involved in
the public procurement process, must display personal and professional integrity. Ideally
there shouldn’t be any inconsistency between the two. Public servants involved in the public
procurement process should, at all times, be perceived as honest, trustworthy, responsible and
reliable. They must always keep the purpose of the procurement requirement in mind, and
strive to ensure that they responsibly manage public procurement as mandated by the public
procurement rules.

Economy: Value for money, and commercially reasonable price, the principle of economy
emphasizes the need to manage public funds with care and due diligence so that prices paid
for goods, services and works are acceptable and represent good value for the public funds
expended on them.

Openness: Public procurement requirements should be open to all qualified organizations

and individuals. The public should also have access to information pertaining to public
procurement requirements.

Fairness: There are different interpretations of fairness in public procurement, so rather than
define fairness as treating all bidders equally, better to mention how fairness is achieved in
public procurement. To achieve fairness in the public procurement process:

 Decision–making and actions must be unbiased, and no preferential treatment should be

extended to individuals or organizations given that public procurement activities are
undertaken with public funds.
 All offers must be considered on the basis of their compliance with the stipulations of the
solicitation documents, and offers should not be rejected for reasons other than those
specifically stated in the solicitation documents and the procurement rules.

 A contract should only be signed with the supplier, contractor or service provider whose
offer is compliant and best responds to the objectives of the requirement in terms of
technical capability and price.

 Suppliers, contractors or service providers should have the right to challenge the
procurement process whenever they feel they were unfairly treated or that the procuring
entity failed to carry out the procurement process in accordance with the public
procurement rules.

Competition: The public procurement process should not be manipulated for the benefit of
any organization or individual.
Accountability in public procurement means that anyone involved in the procurement
process is responsible for their actions and decisions with respect to the public procurement
process. As public servants, procurement practitioners, and others involved in the public
procurement process, are accountable and exposed to sanctions as a remedy for any behavior

(iii) Public procurement process refers to the process by which public authorities, such as
government departments or local authorities, purchase work, goods or services from
businesses.  Public procurement process involves six stages as given below:

Procurement Planning: The process of identifying which organizational needs can be best
met by procuring products or services outside the organization.

Solicitation Planning: The process of preparing the documents needed to support the
solicitation. This process involves documenting program requirements and identifying
potential sources (Helms, 2017).

Solicitation: The process of obtaining information (bids or proposals) from prospective

sellers on how project needs can be met. Solicitation activities include advertising
procurement opportunities, conducting industry and pre-proposal conferences.

Source Selection: The process of receiving bids or proposals and applying evaluation
criteria to select a provider.

Contract Administration: The process of ensuring that each party’s performance meets
contractual requirements.

Contract Closeout: The process of verifying that all administrative matters are concluded
on a contract that is otherwise physically complete. This involves completing and settling the
contract, including resolving any open items.

(iv) Contract management is defined as the process of awarding and administering contracts
generally referred to as purchasing in public and as procurement or acquisition in the
government (Sherman, 2017).

(a) Structure of contract management means defining responsibilities for contract

management within government, and how the relationship with the private party will be
managed. It also entails taking consideration of the long term and cyclic operational
nature of PPP contracts where different contract management skills will be required at
different times during the contract’s life.
This includes designating a PPP contract manager (or management team) within the
implementing agency who will be dedicated specifically to the management of the PPP
contract, as well as defining the roles of other entities within government in managing the
PPP. Commitment, collaboration and coordination are needed to manage a PPP contract
effectively. The government will need to be clear on where the contract manager has
autonomy, and can act with discretion, and where it needs to consult or gain approval from
someone else a higher-level officer, or another entity such as a Finance Ministry. It also
requires establishing communication and contract management protocols for the relationship
with the private party.
(b) Roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in contract management
 Procurement services sector involves the sourcing for goods, services and works,
meaning that the process brings many players together for it to succeed. Thus, placing
procurement department one of the significant stakeholders in effective contracts
management.
 . The procurement department is a clearly defined office with structure can properly
deliver their roles as part of the stakeholders within their department.
 Procurement department is the backbone in the whole process however does not involve
in adjudication and the award of contracts. The normal operation of procurement
department is to support the whole entity in relation to the procurement process and
procedures that transmit a very strong foundation for mutual benefit from all stakeholders
thereby causing effective contracts management.
 The proper procurement input and output is systematically embedded in the operation of
procurement process and department as a function, this basis ideally put forward
procurement department so paramount in realizing the goals of the organization.
 The strategic role of Procurement”, The movement of the procurement function from a
“passive” or reactive role to strategic role is becoming ever more prevalent across
organizations.
 The process of identifying the best suppliers and maintaining them is perhaps the single
most important role of the procurement department in any forward-looking organization.
 The procurement department also undertake the task of verifying business documents
such good receipt note, price list and quotation schedules and delivery note amongst
others.
 Contract management team acts as the representative of the government within the public
regulatory environment. In some instances, this is achieved through internal delegations
 or institutional arrangements within the government, while in others a specific form of
legislation may establish and empower the contract management team. Thus, it indicates
the need for contract management team for an effective contracts management.
 The process of ensuring that contract management successfully takes the right course, all
the parties involved must keenly pay attention to all provisions in the contract.
 End users are involved in strategic planning decisions of procurement activities,
development of procurement strategy and execution of the proposed strategies throughout
the life cycle of the procurement exercise backed with implementation, review and
corrective actions.”
 User department liaises with and assists the procurement unit throughout the disposal
process. Therefore, is further prudent to consider end user role for an effective contracts
management and results; this is evidenced through positive contribution they deliver.
 user involvement requires top management commitment and communication. If top
management does not clearly communicate the different possibilities for professional
purchasing involvement, effective involvement of product users will remain problematic.
(c ) Techniques used in contract cost control and management
Consider budget planning: It will need to establish a fixed budget at the beginning of the
project planning session, including all payments and the costs to be borne during the project's
life cycle.

Tracking costs: It is better to prepare budgets, monitor operational costs, and analyse
deviations that will help you track the project budget at each stage.

Time management: Time-effective management is one of the most important methods of

cost control. Although this technique applies to different management areas, it is essential for
project cost control.

Use of change control systems: Change control systems are vital methods necessary to
consider any possible changes during the project journey.

Keep track of the money you've made: To determine the value of the work carried out so
far, a financial accounting technique known as "acquired value is beneficial."

( d ) Main content of a contract management plan

The main content of a Contract Management Plan will include:
 Clearly defined outputs, performance levels and objective information requirements.
 Penalties in case of default.
 Roles and responsibilities in monitoring and information provision.
 Commencement and other key dates of activities.
 Cost bearing agreement for all Contract Management activities.
 Reporting of results arrangements.
 Dates and service releases in specific sectors
 Payment mechanisms.
 Mechanisms for benchmarking and testing where relevant.
 Managing change mechanisms e.g. changes in law, bidding, control etc.
 Mechanisms for problem solving and resolving disputes.
 Contingency arrangements in case of failure or default.
 Rights of the contracting agency.
 Other as may be necessary for particular projects management with stakeholders.
 On contingency plans for dealing with emergencies.
 Frameworks for independent auditing.
 Public Consultation Needs.
(e ) Causes of delay and termination of contracts
The following are causes of delays of contracts
 Poor front end engineering design (FEED): The client provides the contractor with the
FEED document and requires his validation within a very short space of time. The FEED
is normally of a low standard and contains numerous errors as it does not consider
specific site or process requirements. However, once validated by the contractor, the
client seeks to shift all responsibility for the FEED deficiencies to them, and while the
argument continues over responsibility, progress is delayed

 Late access to site: The contract will normally contain a date for the contractor to take
possession of the site in order to carry out any necessary site investigation and enabling
works, followed by the main construction works. However, access is very commonly
delayed by a number of months, which causes delays to the original programme.

 Client representative interference in detailed design: The client will often employ a
project management company and/or place his own discipline representative in the
contractor’s offices. The representative will seek the very best design for the client, which
is natural, but not often limited to ‘fit for the purpose intended’ required by the contract.
 Slow approval of method statements: Similar to the approval of design, method
statements are often very slow to be approved by the representative. In most contracts the
contractor is given a specific time frame (normally 7–14 days) in which to submit
information. However, no such obligation is placed on the representative. As a result,
approval for a method statement can take weeks, if not months. This adds delay to the
specific item of work but also associated works.

There are 4 main ways contracts terminate or can be terminated (there is a difference):

 By performance: The contract runs its course, and the contract is performed

 By agreement: The parties agree to end the contract by agreement, with another

contract
 By breach of contract: The innocent party has a right of termination for breach of
contract, when party does not deliver what was promised and is in repudiatory
breach, or another agreed standard of breach 
 By the law of frustration: the underlying circumstances of contract change, which
material alter the performance requirements of the contract
 They're only the general grounds in law that are available in all contracts: they can
be qualified or excluded by the agreement itself.
 References
Bemelmans, J., Voordijk, H., Vos, B. and Buter, J. (2018), “Assessing buyer-supplier
relationship management: a multiple case-study in the Dutch construction
industry”, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 138
No. 1, pp. 163-176.

Belout, A. & Gauvreau, C. (2019), “Factors influencing project success: the impact of human
resource management”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 22, pp.
Burke, R. (2018). Project Management; planning and control techniques. Chichester,

England: John Wiley and Sons.

Collins, A. and Baccarini, D. (2019), “Project Success - A Survey”, Journal of Construction

Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 211-231 [13] De Wit, A. 1988, “Measurement of project
success”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 6
Garrett, G.A., & Rendon, R.G. (2008). Contract management organizational assessment
tools. McLean, VA: National Contract Management Association.
Henderson, B.D. (2015). The coming revolution in purchasing. Journal of Purchasing and
Materials Management, 11(2), 44. (Reprint from Purchasing Magazine,
Kelman, S. (2016). Contracting at the core. Government Executive, July 30, 2001.
Kerzner, H. (2017). Strategic planning for project management: Using a project management
maturity model. New York: John Wiley & Sons