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The Committee notes the Government’s succinct statement on the continued application of the Convention. Noting that the Government has not supplied for a number of years any substantive information on the national laws and regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would communicate in its next report up-to-date information on the implementing legislation and specify in particular the legal instrument which provides for the insertion of labour clauses to public contracts as required under Article 2 of the Convention. In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the Administrative Regulation – Secretariat Circular No. 23 of 1946, which met the requirements of the Convention at the time of its ratification, is still in force.

Moreover, the Committee understands that the Government with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank has recently undertaken public procurement reforms including the restructuring of the Central Tender Board, which sets policies and supervises procurement, the setting up of decentralized procurement offices in key ministries, and the drafting of new rules and regulations with a view to improving financial performance, good governance and transparency.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to ensure that the new legislation on public procurement is fully consistent with the requirements of the Convention and asks the Government to keep it informed of any further developments in this regard.