The government will accelerate procurement of goods and services in the maritime and fisheries sector next year, a senior official said on Tuesday (12/12).
“As part of our [effort at] transparency, we will accelerate procurement of goods and services in 2018,” Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries secretary general Rifky Effendi Hardijanto said.
According to Rifky, the ministry will invite various private stakeholders to participate in its procurement projects.
Many of the previous projects were flawed by markups, delays and inconsistencies in contracts with parties that had won the ministry’s tenders.
One of the ministry’s priority programs is financial assistance to small-scale fishermen to help them purchase boats, aimed to narrow the economic gap between smallholders and big fishing companies.
The ministry has targeted to provide 782 fishing vessels by the end of the year, but so far only 101 boats have been distributed.