Section 23, The Public Procurement Act, 2016

(1) To the extent possible, any specifications, plans,drawings, designs and requirements or descriptions of goods, works or services shall be based on the relevant objective technical and quality characteristic, and performance of the goods, works or services to be procured; but there shall be no requirement for or reference to a particular brand, trademark, name, patent, design, type, specific origin or producer unless there is no other sufficiently precise or intelligible way of describing the characteristics of the goods, works or services to be procured and provided that words such as “or equivalent” are included. (2) Any descriptions of the technical or quality characteristics of the goods, works or services to be procured, and requirements as to testing, packaging, marking, labelling, or conformity certification, or symbols and terminology, that are irrelevant to the performance of the goods or create obstacles to participation by qualified bidders, and thereby limiting competition, shall not be included or used in the prequalification documents, or bidding