The Ethiopian Procurement and Property Administration Agency (FPAA) announced 224 new standards in relation to asset purchases by federal and regional government institutions. The Agency issued the new standards to minimize wastage of government money on purchase and fixing of assets by government agencies. The new standards introduced by the Agency will take effect in two weeks time.

“The standards will be effective immediately, after each government institution receives the list,” said Tsegaye Abebe, director general of the Agency, at the meeting held with regional government officials on Thursday, March 07, 2013, at the Ministry of Finance & Economic Development.

The Agency has conducted research on the items purchased by the  federal government agencies and five regional states,last year. The finding of the research, which took six months, indicated, almost all of the items purchased did fulfill international standards.

The FPAA contracted a local company, Encore Employment, Training & Consultancy Services, at a cost of 2.5 million Br, to develop the standards for fixed assets and supplies purchase based on the research finding.

Encore developed the standards based on  International Standard Organization (ISO) and by looking into best practices of the governments of India, South Africa, Kenya, Great Britain and Germany, last year. The standards are approved by the Ethiopian Standards Authority, the country's National Standards Body established in 2010.

Source: Fortune