Could Countries Do More to Tackle Corruption in Public Procurement, Where Governments And

INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

ADDRESSING THE WHOLE PROCUREMENT CYCLE

by

Elodie Beth*

Could countries do more to tackle corruption in public procurement, where governments and state-owned firms buy goods and services from the private sector? Yes, according to a new OECD report.

Integrity in public procurement: Good practice from A to Z finds that while a lot of time and effort has been focused in recent years on improving the bidding process for projects such as roads, defence and dams, other areas that are less visible but as open to abuse have been overlooked.

The bidding is only “the tip of the iceberg”, the most transparent part of the process, according to the report. Widely-publicised corruption scandals spotlighted grey areas not only in the bidding but also in needs assessment and contract management.

When assessing whether projects are really needed, for example, politicians often put their own agenda first when deciding to build roads or other major infrastructure projects. Subcontractors and intermediaries involved in contract management have been used for hiding corrupt transactions, since they are much more difficult for the government to monitor.

The report notes that reform efforts have also neglected exceptions to competitive procedures, such as emergency contracting and defence procurement. Under the cover of national security interests, many countries still purchase in a non-transparent way clothes, boots, food and other common expenses for the military. Not to mention the common pitfall of emergency procurements which often entail large-scale mismanagement and corruption.

A few countries have started taking steps to address these major loopholes. Based on an international survey, this publication Integrity in public procurement: Good practice from A to Z takes a holistic approach by mapping out risks and good practices in the whole procurement cycle. Due to the increasingly global nature of procurement, it provides a global view of procurement by including elements of good practice not only in OECD countries, but also in Brazil, Chile, Dubai, India, Pakistan, Romania, Slovenia and South Africa. The publication also gives full recognition that public procurement is a strategic profession rather a simple administrative function, with high impact on tax payers’ money.

"Iam confidentthe report will assist seniorprocurementofficials frombothmember and non-member OECD countries in their ongoing efforts to improve theiracquisition systems. Without question, itis the most comprehensiveinternationalreport onprocurement best practices that has been produced.My sincere congratulations on a lasting contribution to the international acquisition community."
RobertA. Burton, Deputy Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States and Chair of the Expert Group on Integrity in Public Procurement.

This is part of an OECD-wide effort which embraces work at both international and regional levels on public procurement from the perspective of public governance, development aid and the fight of bribery of foreign public officials.

*Elodie Beth is an Administrator in the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate (email: )

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