Pursuant to clause 10.27 of the Public Finance Regulations published under the Public Finance Act, the government has issued the Unsolicited Proposals Policy (USP Policy) to promote private sector participation in the country’s development. The policy has been published in the government gazette today.
A USP is a proposal that offers a unique solution to a government need which has not been explicitly requested by the government. This policy outlines the framework that would be used to consider and assess such proposals that are aligned with the pledges of the government and contributes to its development agenda.
The Ministry of Economic Development is appointed as the One-Stop Shop to submit proposals under this Policy. There are 3 stages in accepting and reviewing an Unsolicited Proposal. The first stage aims to ensure that the proposal complies with the requirements laid out in the policy, subsequent to which a strategic assessment of the proposal will be carried out to determine whether the proposal warrants a direct negotiation with the government. Detailed criteria for the assessment of proposals are outlined in the Policy.
The USP Policy aims to harness private-sector innovation and capabilities in the delivery of strategic projects of the government, while protecting public-policy objectives and intellectual property rights, encouraging competition, and ensuring transparency and accountability. The government wants to encourage private parties to put forward ideas that will help to deliver better public services and give those ideas a fair hearing.