SAGO 2024: Public Contract Regulatory Agency stages conspicuous presence.

It was Communication Minister, Emmanuel Rene Sadi who gave the official kick off. 

This was in the presence of a college of government ministers, national and foreign guests amongst others.

Amongst the high-profile exhibitors at the fair which ends this weekend, is the police of the public contracts sector, the Public Contract Regulatory Agency, ARMP.

ARMP has been a traditional exhibitor at the exhibition fair which is in its 13th edition.

The imposing exhibition stand of the state-run corporation has been at the centre of attraction at the fair which has grouped more than a thousand exhibitors from home and abroad. 

The stand which has been receiving hundreds of curious visitors daily, has been transformed into more or less a beehive with an ever ready and hospitable staff on hand to receive guests. 

Staff of ARMP at the exhibition village set up for that purpose at the esplanade of the Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex, have been responding to questions from prying members of the public.

The Head of the Communication Unit at ARMP, Yap Clarise who spoke to The Guardian Post Wednesday, explained that ARMP, is simply respecting tradition by participating at the fair.

The communication chief disclosed that ARMP was staging its 11th participation at the annual event. She said ARMP has come to SAGO to showcase its services.

“ARMP has been taking part in SAGO every year. So, we are at our 10 or 11th participation. When we come to the fair, it is to promote the image of ARMP, and make known our mission, because the public is ignorant of this sector,” explained the ARMP communication boss, who immediately added that: “We seize the opportunity to discuss with members of the public who visit our stands and to tell them that ARMP is the watchdog of public contract sector. ARMP also facilitates the public contract circuit in Cameroon. This signifies that we are the gendarmes of public contract sector; we ensure that contracts are awarded and executed following norms and standards”.

“We have equally come to advertise training workshops because ARMP trains experts in public contracts. Two weeks ago, we trained some personnel of the Douala Port Authority who came here to be trained. Last week, we trained the first group of SIC personnel and the 2nd group is being trained this week,” she added. 

“We shall also seize this opportunity to meet all the institutions present in SAGO that deal in public contracts. We inform them of the different offers of ARMP for them,” she continued. 

“In terms of procedure, ARMP has its website, www.armp.cm which was created in June 2014. Once you visit the website you will get all information needed,” Yap disclosed, before stating that as a watchdog and facilitator of public contracts, ARMP ensures that once a public contract offer is put up, it should be done in transparency.

“We ensure that the offer is published in the public contract news outlet of ARMP. We also have statistics. From Jan 1, 2024 to July 28, 2024, we have published 11,000 calls for offers launched in Cameroon,” she added.

Created by Decree N° 2001/048 on February 23, 2001 in the framework of profound reforms, the Public Contract Regulatory Agency, ARMP is a public administrative establishment with its own legal personality and financial autonomy. The ARMP oversees regulation, follow-ups and evaluation of the public markets sector. 

It is specifically in charge of contributing to training and informing those in the system on regulations and applicable procedures in public markets, elaborating and diffusing documents and procedural manuals as well as assuring the editing and publication of the Public Markets Journal.

ARMP brings additional technical support necessary to public contracts commissions while overseeing through studies and regular opinions the healthy application of regulation and procedures relative to public markets and to make all appropriate recommendations relative to improvements.

It also collects and centralise documentation and statistics on attribution, execution and control of public contracts as well as receives master works and commissions from copy contracts and other documents or rapports concerned of which it is responsible for its good maintaining and conservation in the archives relative to public contracts.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3180 of Friday July 26, 2024