Cap.22:23 17 Puauc PROCUREMENT AND DisPOSAL OF Puauc AssETs No.S/2017 Procurement management unit of procuring entity ( 1) Subject to this section, every procuring entity shall establish a procurement management unit headed by the accounting officer, which shall be responsible for managing all the entity's procurement activities in accordance with this Act. (2) The accounting officer of a procuring entity shall determine the size, location and structure of the entity's procurement management unit, taking into account the entity's procurement requirements and the availability of trained and experienced persons to staff the unit. (3) The functions of a procurement management unit shall be- (a) planning the procurement activities of its procuring entity; and (b) (c) securing the adoption of the appropriate method of procurement; and preparing bidding documents in compliance with provisions in or under this Act for the design of contract specifications and the evaluation criteria; and (d) (e) preparing bid notices and short-lists; and managing bidding processes, including pre-bid meetings, clarifications and the receipt and opening of bids; and (f) managing tbe evaluation of bids and any post-qualification negotiations required; and supervising its procuring entity's evaluation committee and- (g) (h) (i) ensuring that the committee has carried out its duties in accordance with this Act; and (ii) receiving evaluation reports from the committee and ensuring that they are correct and have been prepared in accordance with this Act; and preparing evaluation reports, including contract award recommendations, where the value of the procurement is less than the prescribed threshold; and (i) submitting all evaluations to its procuring entity's accounting officer, with confirmation that the procedure followed has complied with this Act; and (j) preparing contract documents and amendments; and (k) managing procurement contracts or overseeing their management; and (l) preparing such procurement reports as may be required by the procuring entity's accounting officer or the Authority; and (m) exercising any other function conferred or imposed on the unit by or under this Act or by its accounting officer or procuring entity. (4) Where the level of a procuring entity's procurement activity does not justify the entity creating its own procurement management unit(a) the entity's procurement activities shall be carried out by its parent body; or (b) if the entity's parent body is unable to carry out the entity's procurement activities, the entity's accounting officer may, subject to subsection (5) and any guidelines issued by the Authority(i) with the consent of the other procuring entity concerned, appoint another procuring entity's procurement management unit to conduct those activities; or (ii) appoint an independent procurement agent to conduct those activities. (5) Before taking action in terms of subsection (4)(b), an accounting officer shall satisfy himself or herself that his or her procuring entity has funds available to 55