A report regarding Queenstown Lakes District Council
(QLDC) procurement practice, and specifically bylaw reviews
undertaken by local consultants ZQN.7, requested by Mayor
Jim Boult has reinforced the need to modernise guidelines
and tighten training, as well as expediting a review of
procurement policies committed to in July 2020.
Mayor
Boult confirmed that, whilst generally practice was aligned
with the current QLDC Procurement Policy, misunderstanding
existed regarding the application of the
guidelines.
“The ZQN.7 situation was exacerbated by
key staff leaving, the scope of works increasing and the
extended process of working through the reviews with
Councillors. Along with this a number of staff in the
organisation unintentionally misconstrued the procurement
process regarding a decision-making threshold of
$50k.”
“The Council engages a significant number
of suppliers. That is simply a necessity given the scale of
the programme of work we’re dealing with. Whilst
procurement practice amongst staff is generally in keeping
with the policy and guidelines, especially with the larger
multi-million dollar contracts, the report has shown that
there is common misconception regarding lower value
contracts. Many staff have believed it was ok to directly
appoint suppliers without a competitive process and have
structured contracts to be managed efficiently, not
appreciating the total value of the work to be completed,”
said Mayor Boult.
“I must reassure the community
that there is generally excellent procurement practice
within the Council. Where it has deviated, the report is
clear that there is no ill or unlawful intent or activity,
or desire to furnish mates with work. Furthermore, where the
process has deviated in the under $50k procurement the right
attributes have been considered when commissioning work
(such as competency and price) and outcomes have still been
delivered. These findings do not compromise any work that
has been completed or work currently in progress. We can
therefore focus our attention on future
process.”
Councillors reviewed and discussed the
report and wider procurement practice in a workshop on
Monday 15 February and broadly accepted and supported the
content, findings and recommendations, and committed to
seeking a further review of the report by the Council’s
Audit, Finance & Risk Committee which includes two
Councillors and three independent external committee
members. One recommendation was to expedite the review of
the guidelines and policy which was committed to at a
meeting of the Audit, Finance & Risk Committee on 2 July
2020.
Mayor Boult added that one of the drivers for
the review of the policy and guidelines were to make sure
they are fit for purpose and reflect current best
practice.
“These documents were produced in 2016 and
the nature of Council and the environment in which it
operates has changed significantly since then. Whilst we
need to ensure that officers are operating within best
practice, delegated financial authorities, and in alignment
with Central Government’s Procurement Rules and guidance,
the Council needs the agility to work at pace and to be
responsive to a dynamic context and the current guidelines
are outdated and unworkable.”
“I would like to
reassure those who may be concerned that this Council, its
elected members and staff remain committed to transparency
and access to information regarding procurement and all
matters of Council business. On that basis I have requested
that staff explore making contracts awarded a matter of
public record by default – with appropriate redactions for
commercial sensitivity. As a first step on this path the
report into procurement practice has been publicly released.
No entity always gets things right, but it’s important
that when errors are made we resolve them, learn from them,
and always continue to strive to improve,” concluded Mayor
Boult.
Recent Comments