H.E. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Chairs Meeting of Ministry of Possibilities’ Department of Government Procurement

H.E. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, chaired the fifth meeting of the Ministry of Possibilities’ Department of Government Procurement. The latter was launched in April 2019 by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the aim of developing a platform that improves the efficiency of government procurement. H.E. reviewed the latest developments of the project, and the steps taken in preparation of the launch of the platform in the second quarter of this year. 

The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Possibilities in Emirates Towers, Dubai, with H.E. Sultan Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy,  H.E. Eng. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, H.E. Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, H.E. Dr. Thani Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi Minister of Climate Change and Environment, H.E. Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing, H.E. Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, and a group of federal government senior officials. 

H.E. Obaid Humaid Al Tayer stressed on the importance of teamwork in actualizing the future vision of the wise leadership of the UAE, and praised the commitment of the team at the Department of Government Procurement.

H.E. said: "The project is being conducted according to set plans with the goal to implement the future platform in the second quarter of 2020. Many intensive workshops were previously held with various federal entities, platform services suppliers and platform solutions providers to study and discuss the options presented. We have also set the purchase targets of the federal government,  which aims to make the United Arab Emirates among the most developed countries globally in the development of government procurement. This is in line with our vision to achieve a fundamental change in current procurement procedures by enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness, thereby reducing the time required to complete procurement procedures from 60 days to six minutes.”

H.E. discussed the latest developments with regards to the selection of suppliers for products and services that will be added to the Directory of Procurement Categories of the Federal Government, smart devise, laptops, printers, security services, cleaning and hospitality services, among others. 

H.E. also reviewed the organizational unit structure of the Department of Government Procurement and the future platform, in accordance with studies of countries with governments that are similar to the United Arab Emirates. This will facilitate communication between the Ministry of Finance and various government entities, and lead to swift responses to the needs of government entities, and enhance adherence to organizational principles and foundations of sound governance. 

Participants discussed the importance of attracting specialized technical talent in this field, along with the importance of taking advantage of the experiences of some federal authorities, and the importance of establishing specialized rehabilitation and training programs to qualify procurement officials and accountants in the federal government.