By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
A public procurement consultant, Mr. Eze Onyekpere has advocated for public procurement officials in Bauchi State to always consider Citizen Participation and Gender Mainstreaming in the State’s Public Procurement Process.
The Consultant also advocated for Gender-responsive procurement processes that focuses on the selection of services, goods and civil works that considers their impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
These advocacies were part of presentations made on Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Mainstreaming in procurement processes made by Mr. Onyekpere, at the just concluded training of Public Procurement officers, organized by USAID funded State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness (State2State) Bauchi field office held at the conference hall of Hazibal Hotel Bauchi.
The consultant further stressed on the the significance of encouraging females and persons with disability to be given equal opportunity to bid on government procurement irrespective of gender, among other factors.
The session equally dueled on the importance of paying attention to the special needs of persons with disability and senior citizens when constructing projects such as public buildings.
“For instance, in the construction of schools, there is a need to consider the implication of using single toilets for female adolescents”, said Onyekpere.
In a closing remarks after the training, Public Financial Management Specialist of USAID State2State Bauchi Field office, Mr. Isaac Otabor tasked beneficiaries of the training on cascading what they have learnt to their colleagues in their respective MDAs.
Our correspondent reports that 27 persons drawn from the Bauchi State Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Ministries of Health, Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector and related officers from the focus Local Government Areas (LGAs) Alkaleri, Bauchi, Katagum and Misau benefited from the three (3) days training.