Section 19, The Public Procurement Act, 2004

(1) A procurement unit shall be established in eachprocuring entity, staffed with persons trained and knowledgeable in procurement and charged with carrying out, on an ongoing basis, functions related to procurement. (2) Procuring entities shall ensure that the procurement units referred to in subsection (1) are established and provided with adequate staffing and resources. (3) The functions of procurement units shall include– (a) planning of procurement; (b) preparation of invitations to bid and of bidding documents; (c) publication and distribution of invitations to bid; (d) receiving and safeguarding of bids; (e) conducting bid opening procedures; (f) evaluation of bids, including management of necessary technical evaluation committees and advisers to properly evaluate the bids; (g) performance of secretarial services for the respective procurement committee; (h) administering the implementation and monitoring of contracts, to the extent that is not carried out by end-user departments; (i) assessment of the quality of the procured goods, works and services; (j) sourcing and profiling of all suppliers, contractors and consultants, and the maintenance of a database for that purpose; (k) such other functions as may be conferred by any other enactment. (4) Appointments of staff of the procurement unit are subject to certification and approval requirements that may be instituted by the Authority and may be linked to continuing professional education requirements. (5) Procuring entities may establish subsidiary procurement units for subdivisions of the procuring entity, which– (a) are located in the provinces; (b) have a particularly large or specialised procurement workload; (c) operate in practice as an independent entity; units. 20 21 (d) would otherwise operate more effectively with a subsidiary procurement unit.