Southern Africa Development Community Secretariat – Procurement and Grants Policy PART ONE PROCUREMENT CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose of this Policy (1) The purpose of this Policy is to provide for the rules for the attribution of public contracts, whether services, works, or goods to be procured by the SADC Secretariat. (2) This Policy shall regulate procurement of goods, services and works. Article 2. Procurement principles (1) (2) The SADC Secretariat’s principles that shall govern all procurement processes of the organization are the following: (a) maximizing economy and efficiency in procurement to achieve value for money; (b) fostering and promoting competition by encouraging participation in procurement proceedings by economic operators regardless of nationality; (c) promoting transparency, accountability and Ethical Standards among stakeholders in following the SADC Secretariat Procurement Policy; and (d) providing for the fair and equitable treatment of all economic operators to promote the integrity of, and fairness and public confidence in the procurement process. Any procurement procedure or regulation that is in conflict with these principles shall be declared null and void. Article 3. Scope of application (1) This Policy shall apply to all procurement contracts financed by SADC Secretariat, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2) of this article. (2) The Policy does not apply to: (a) subject to Article 5 of this Policy, any contracts for which a prior derogation from this Policy has been obtained from the Council of Ministers; (b) public utilities services as far as they are provided under a national monopoly e.g. water, electricity, gas, and waste water disposal; (c) public transportation for persons as far as they are provided under a national monopoly (including railway and water transportation but excluding e.g.; transport by air, car rentals); (d) landline communication services (if the landline communication provider is a national monopoly); (e) national postal services as far as they are provided under a national monopoly: stamps, telex, registered mail, etc; 7