Post Office

The Contracts Department was established on 1 April 1941 to take over all the contracting functions previously performed by the Personnel, Engineering and Stores Department. The Department became responsible for making specialised studies of contractual arrangements for the execution of works, the purchase and sale of supplies and for placing the relative contracts. It did not, however, deal with contracts for the transportation of mails, small buildings and local installation works. The department also liaised in respect of all matters pertaining to contracts with other departments of the Post Office and government purchasing departments. These departments existed until the early 1970s, when contracting work was no longer centralised and was instead managed partly by Purchasing and Logistics and partly by individual departments.