70% of govt contracts are illegal
Jun 11, 2008
At least 70% of government contracts are illegal, the World Bank has said.
By Barbara Among
At least 70% of government contracts are illegal, the World Bank has said.
Opening the East African procurement forum in Kampala on Tuesday, the bank’s regional procurement manager, V.S Krishnakumar, said less than 30% of the contracts fulfil the procurement rules.
“Despite these reforms, compliance with procurement systems still remains a major challenge,†said Krishnakumar.
He attributed the non-compliance to the slow follow-up on identified cases and limited sanctions or punitive action against those responsible.
“More commitment and effort is required in this area.â€
Krishnakumar said high potential of corruption was at the stage of contracting and during evaluation.
“During evaluation, the rules of the game (procurement process) are changed,†Krishnakumar said.
The bank blamed the country for not implementing the procurement laws.
“If you have a law in place and do not enforce it, it is as good as useless. Poor governance allows corruption in public procurement,†said the bank’s East African senior procurement officer, Mbuba Mbungu.
The Public Procurement Authority board chairman, James Kahoza, noted that people who violated the rules were not prosecuted.
The executive director, Edgar Agaba, said the high level of corruption in the procurement process was common in contracts that involved huge sums of money.
According to the bank’s recent procurement assessment report on Uganda, the annual volume of public procurement is estimated to be 12% of GDP, representing almost half of the Government’s spending.
The report pointed out that public procurement was about 70% of the annual expenditure and 70% to 90% of the corruption-related complaints received the IGG annually.
It added that 20% of the value of public procurement was lost to corrupt practices with the cost, quantity and quality of public services being affected.
The report noted that the political appointment of tender board members had created a lot of problems, including the members awarding themselves contacts and increasing the costs of projects.
The bank said corruption in procurement was in both the central and local government.
The report called upon the Government to enact the Amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The bank also urged the Government to implement the Whistleblower Protection Law, which will ensure that people who report covert acts of corruption to the anti-corruption agencies are protected from reprisal.
It called upon the ministry of finance to enforce compliance and ensure that procurement was efficient.
At least 70% of government contracts are illegal, the World Bank has said.
Opening the East African procurement forum in Kampala on Tuesday, the bank’s regional procurement manager, V.S Krishnakumar, said less than 30% of the contracts fulfil the procurement rules.
“Despite these reforms, compliance with procurement systems still remains a major challenge,†said Krishnakumar.
He attributed the non-compliance to the slow follow-up on identified cases and limited sanctions or punitive action against those responsible.
“More commitment and effort is required in this area.â€
Krishnakumar said high potential of corruption was at the stage of contracting and during evaluation.
“During evaluation, the rules of the game (procurement process) are changed,†Krishnakumar said.
The bank blamed the country for not implementing the procurement laws.
“If you have a law in place and do not enforce it, it is as good as useless. Poor governance allows corruption in public procurement,†said the bank’s East African senior procurement officer, Mbuba Mbungu.
The Public Procurement Authority board chairman, James Kahoza, noted that people who violated the rules were not prosecuted.
The executive director, Edgar Agaba, said the high level of corruption in the procurement process was common in contracts that involved huge sums of money.
According to the bank’s recent procurement assessment report on Uganda, the annual volume of public procurement is estimated to be 12% of GDP, representing almost half of the Government’s spending.
The report pointed out that public procurement was about 70% of the annual expenditure and 70% to 90% of the corruption-related complaints received the IGG annually.
It added that 20% of the value of public procurement was lost to corrupt practices with the cost, quantity and quality of public services being affected.
The report noted that the political appointment of tender board members had created a lot of problems, including the members awarding themselves contacts and increasing the costs of projects.
The bank said corruption in procurement was in both the central and local government.
The report called upon the Government to enact the Amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The bank also urged the Government to implement the Whistleblower Protection Law, which will ensure that people who report covert acts of corruption to the anti-corruption agencies are protected from reprisal.
It called upon the ministry of finance to enforce compliance and ensure that procurement was efficient.