Nigeria is set to commence the full implementation of the open contracting processes, aimed at entrenching transparency in public procurement. This was disclosed by the Federal Government stating that contracting portal is scheduled for opening at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
Mr. Mokuolu Adesina, Head, e-Government Procurement Unit of the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, stated this in his presentation at the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice’s, ANEEJ, Civil Society Advocacy to Support Anti-Corruption in Nigeria, CASAN.
The programme was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, under the European Union EU, funded 10th European Development Fund, EDF.
Adesina lamented that corruption in public procurement affects the efficiency of public spending and effectiveness of donors’ resources; creates waste and ultimately, affects the quality of goods and services and the opportunities they present to improve quality of life.
He added that corruption in public procurement also harms companies that produce goods and services as it increases operational costs, reduces competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Adesina stated that with the full implementation f open contracting process, the Federal Governments shall require the timely, current, and routine publication of enough information about the formation, award, execution, performance, and completion of public contracts.
This, he said, is to enable the public, including media and civil society, to understand and monitor as a safeguard against inefficient, ineffective, or corrupt use of public resources.
According to him, this would require affirmative disclosure of contracts, including licenses, concessions, permits, grants or any other document exchanging public goods, assets, or resources, including all annexes, schedules and documents incorporated by reference, and any amendments thereto.
“Public contracting shall be conducted in a transparent and equitable manner, in accordance with publicly disclosed rules that explain the functioning of the process, including policies regarding disclosure,” he explained.
Adesina also stated that the open contracting global principles, which Nigeria subscribes to, reflect the belief that increased disclosure and participation in public contracting will have the effects of making contracting more competitive and fair, improving contract performance, and securing development outcomes.
On the role of Civil Society Organsations, CSO, in the open contracting process, he disclosed that in cases where authorities responsible for overseeing procurement processes do not fulfill their obligations, or worse, are part of a corruption scheme, CSOs can use the information they generate to mobilize citizens and demand greater accountability from their government.
However, he stated that, “Civil Society cannot monitor all procurements in a particular country or sector because of the hundreds of procurements occurring at different government levels at the same time, consequently, for CSOs to be effective, the timing, processes and areas to monitor should be carefully selected, considering, among other factors, the phases of procurement where corruption is most likely to occur.
“Others are the volume and magnitude of the procurement, concentrating on high value contracts; the complexity of the process; the sector vulnerability to corruption; the sectors where most government resources are spent; the availability of information; and the technical expertise of the Monitors.”
