Gaborone, Botswana — The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Botswana’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB). This continues a five-year partnership in which the PPADB established policies and procedures that integrate life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and best-value determination in a fair and transparent manner.

“This partnership directly supports President Masisi’s vision to transition Botswana to a knowledge-based economy and bolsters Botswana’s reputation for good governance, transparency, and the rule of law.  It will require a continued fight against corruption and a commitment to preventing domestic or foreign actors who wish to exploit and manipulate Botswana’s procurement processes,” said the Honorable Craig Cloud, U.S. Ambassador to Botswana.

The MOU was signed at the conclusion of a five-day training on LCCA, which strengthened procurement officials’ ability to pursue best-value in the procurement process across the Government of Botswana.

“PPADB and USTDA share a commitment to delivering better, longer-term infrastructure investments that will provide Botswana’s citizens the best value for their money,” said USTDA’s Acting Director, Thomas R. Hardy. “This MoU continues our partnership with the PPADB under the Global Procurement Initiative. We look forward to supporting Botswana’s extensive efforts to integrate best-value determinations into their public tenders.”

“On behalf of the Board, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Government of the United States of America and United States Trade and Development Agency for their continued support of PPADB and Botswana through the Global Procurement Initiative,” remarked Elijah Motshedi, acting Executive Chairperson of the PPADB. “GPI has helped us to continue to learn and implement best practices in public procurement, thus improving efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement process.”

Botswana was USTDA’s first partner country under its Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI), and continues to implement policies and practices that integrate international best practices that result in a fair and transparent procurement process.

Launched in 2013, USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value includes 11 partner countries, and is currently receiving requests from additional countries to partner under the Initiative.