New law to unify Dubai govt’s procurement processes

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday issued Law No. (12) of 2020 on contracts and warehouse management in Dubai government.

The new law — which will be effective from January 1, 2021 — aims to create a framework and set standards for regulating procurement processes of government entities in line with the vision of Dubai government to meet the highest global benchmarks in this domain.

The law also seeks to develop an efficient system for government entities to further raise the quality of their procurement and warehouse management. It also seeks to create unified government procurement processes to achieve the highest levels of financial efficiency. The law also seeks to foster integrity, transparency and equal opportunities among suppliers and provide a legal framework for automating the procurement and warehouse management operations of government entities as part of achieving Dubai’s smart transformation objectives.

The law seeks to unify rules and regulations governing government contracts and warehouse management, ensure sound governance of procurement, asset disposal and inventory management, and preserve government assets.

The new legislation outlines the responsibilities of Dubai’s Department of Finance, Smart Dubai Government Establishment and all units responsible for inventory management in government entities. The Department of Finance is tasked with creating guidelines for the governance of procurement, and asset and inventory management, as well as drafting policies and decisions related to unified procurement processes.

The Smart Dubai is tasked with coordinating with public entities to create a unified online government system to manage contracts and inventory; developing associated systems and programmes; ensuring proper operations, maintenance, updates and supervision of the system; and monitoring compliance of government entities with the system.

The law stipulates the creation of a ‘Central of Suppliers’ as part of the government’s unified online system for managing contracts and inventory. Furthermore, the director-general of each government entity is authorised to create an ‘Inventory and Valuation Committee’ to manage inventory and assets.

The law does not apply to commitments made by government procurement departments to projects and programmes supported by the government, especially those relating to small and medium enterprises registered under the Hamdan bin Mohammed Program for youth projects, which is covered by Law No. (23) of 2009 on the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development.

Law No. (12) of 2020 annuls Law No. (6) of 1997 on contracts of government departments in Dubai, and its amendments. The law also annuls any clause in any other legislation that may contradict its provisions.

— business@khaleejtimes.com