Policies are essential to control the administration of public procurement. The policies to combat procurement corruption need to be enshrined in the procurement regulations. Many systems focus more on how to regulate procurement without taking regard of why there is need to regulate it.
What motivates the need for regulations is very important since it shapes how to regulate. The primary tool for minimizing procurement corruption is building transparent systems within the procurement regulations.
Transparency is necessary to manage information monopoly that give rise to corruption. Information monopoly gives rise to information asymmetry reducing the capacity of the overseer to monitor procurement decisions. Another element is the need to manage bureaucracy which brings about the red tape in procurement administration. It also fuels divergence of interests between the policy maker and the administration. An example is the lack of understanding or wrong interpretation by the administration of government policy. Adequate administrative policies are thereby necessary to ensure that interests are re-aligned.
Apportionment of accountability in procurement decision making process is very critical. Many procurement systems fail to balance transparency which is normally achieved by use of procurement committees with the need to ensure procurement officers are accountable. Use of committees provide for checks and balances in the specifications designing, tender evaluation and tender award. The only problem is that a committee cannot be held accountable; the procurement officer is relieved of accountability obligations for procurement decisions yet responsible.
This is the same with the Procurement Act that mandates the State Procurement Board the responsibility to award tenders when the Board is not accountable. Dilution of accountability in procurement decision making further erodes the element of responsibility. This is a catch 22 situation where transparency is meant to achieve dilution of information asymmetry by ensuring that committees answer the question of who makes the decisions, when it is made and how it is made.
Transparency is concerned with ensuring that procurement processes consider procedural compliance demonstrating that processes were followed and information asymmetry is managed. This is achieved by ensuring that the rules of advertising and tender awards are clear. Standard bidding documents provide for verifiability of the procurement process. Specifications must not in any case favor a particular supplier. Specifications in this regard refers to the minimum qualities of the anticipated provider, the technical specifications of the product or service, terms and conditions are economic and do not favor any supplier.
Transparency requires that a minimum level of the tender record is kept. This is also a requirement in the local regulations that certain information leading to any procurement decision is kept. The technical terms normally used for such reports is record of procurement proceedings or procurement report.
The procurement report include Bid opening minutes which in advanced procurement systems, are shared with all tender participants. Bid opening minutes include information relating to the bid at face value that includes the name of the bidder, the options offered and the prices offered. The bid bond, the bid security is also assessed and reported at this meeting.
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The record must also include questions raised by the bidders and the subsequent clarifications and amendments to the specifications and conditions that will have been issued. It will go further to record the basis accepting or rejecting all bids and finally the award of the tender.
Transparency and accountability are therefore effective tools for managing procurement corruption if the right blend of the two requirements is achieved.
l Nyasha Chizu is a Fellow of the CIPS writing in his personal capacity. Feedback: [email protected]; Skype: nyasha.chizu
