How to cure corruption in public procurement
While it is true that corruption in public procurement is still a big problem, it is on the decline in central government.
While it is true that corruption in public procurement is still a big problem, it is on the decline in central government. It has nevertheless developed new worrying roots in districts and urban authorities.
The challenge is to implement existing public procurement reforms with greater participation of the private sector and civil society.
In 1997 the government adopted a holistic approach to fighting corruption in public procurement. The urgent need to introduce fundamental reforms in public procurement in Uganda was recognized as a necessary first step that would make enforcement measures more effective and allow other stakeholders including civil society and the private sector to participate. The reforms were intended to make public procurement more transparent, accountable, fair, non-discriminatory, efficient, competitive and able to make the government realize value for money.
Four important achievements have been registered to-date.
lA new public procurement law, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, came into force in 2003. This was by all means an expression of great political will by the government and Parliament.
The law together with the regulations and guidelines are based on best international practices. In fact the existing legal framework for public procurement in Uganda is one of the very best in the world.
In addition to prescribing procedures and best practices, the law established a regulatory body, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) whose mission is “to bring the public procurement system into full compliance with the law, to make it transparent and free from corruption and through promoting best practices and developing professionally competent and dedicated staff, to render it capable of delivering demonstrable value for money.â€
The third achievement is the human resource capacity which has been developed in the last eight years. Before 1997, there were just a handful of procurement professionals in Uganda. We now have the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply of Uganda with hundreds of members. Kyambogo University is already offering a degree course in procurement. Thousands of practitioners have received valuable skills training either directly from PPDA or from other training institutions.
Corruption in public procurement in central government is on relative decline, judging by the reduced number of cases handled by the Inspector General of Government and audit reports issued by PPDA. However, a few ministries, departments and statutory bodies still continue to flout procurement procedures. This is perhaps more due to incompetence and bad management practices than to outright corruption.
The biggest challenge is posed by the mushrooming corruption in public procurement at district and urban authority level. There has been a delay in amending the Local Government Act to incorporate public procurement reforms. PPDA will need considerable resources to effectively oversee the implementation of procurement reforms in districts and urban authorities in addition to central government.
PPDA should in responding to this challenge promote a greater role for the private sector and civil society in the implementation of procurement reforms. In a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) the private sector brings in expertise, money and business skills to assist the government to ensure delivery by way of a balance between value for money, efficiency, transparency and risk management.
Civil society is important, especially its monitoring role. Hence, civil society including the mass media, should be provided with more information on public procurement. Informed civil society organisations can effectively deter corruption in public procurement.
The writer is the MD of Central Purchasing Company Ltd
The challenge is to implement existing public procurement reforms with greater participation of the private sector and civil society.
In 1997 the government adopted a holistic approach to fighting corruption in public procurement. The urgent need to introduce fundamental reforms in public procurement in Uganda was recognized as a necessary first step that would make enforcement measures more effective and allow other stakeholders including civil society and the private sector to participate. The reforms were intended to make public procurement more transparent, accountable, fair, non-discriminatory, efficient, competitive and able to make the government realize value for money.
Four important achievements have been registered to-date.
lA new public procurement law, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, came into force in 2003. This was by all means an expression of great political will by the government and Parliament.
The law together with the regulations and guidelines are based on best international practices. In fact the existing legal framework for public procurement in Uganda is one of the very best in the world.
In addition to prescribing procedures and best practices, the law established a regulatory body, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) whose mission is “to bring the public procurement system into full compliance with the law, to make it transparent and free from corruption and through promoting best practices and developing professionally competent and dedicated staff, to render it capable of delivering demonstrable value for money.â€
The third achievement is the human resource capacity which has been developed in the last eight years. Before 1997, there were just a handful of procurement professionals in Uganda. We now have the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply of Uganda with hundreds of members. Kyambogo University is already offering a degree course in procurement. Thousands of practitioners have received valuable skills training either directly from PPDA or from other training institutions.
Corruption in public procurement in central government is on relative decline, judging by the reduced number of cases handled by the Inspector General of Government and audit reports issued by PPDA. However, a few ministries, departments and statutory bodies still continue to flout procurement procedures. This is perhaps more due to incompetence and bad management practices than to outright corruption.
The biggest challenge is posed by the mushrooming corruption in public procurement at district and urban authority level. There has been a delay in amending the Local Government Act to incorporate public procurement reforms. PPDA will need considerable resources to effectively oversee the implementation of procurement reforms in districts and urban authorities in addition to central government.
PPDA should in responding to this challenge promote a greater role for the private sector and civil society in the implementation of procurement reforms. In a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) the private sector brings in expertise, money and business skills to assist the government to ensure delivery by way of a balance between value for money, efficiency, transparency and risk management.
Civil society is important, especially its monitoring role. Hence, civil society including the mass media, should be provided with more information on public procurement. Informed civil society organisations can effectively deter corruption in public procurement.
The writer is the MD of Central Purchasing Company Ltd