For the citizenry to access the services, goods and social amenities that government provides, procurement processes must have taken place. It remains a fact that procurement accounts for a bigger chunk of the resources allocated in our budgets. The 2018/2019 budget for example, had its lion’s share of allocated resources going towards public procurement of goods, services and works.
It is therefore unsurprising that any corrupt practices in procurement is catastrophic as it means poor quality or low quantities for the goods, services and works that the public will have to use in public institutions.
“It is necessary to target public procurement considering that the largest chunk of the National Budget is spent in procurement. For example eighty percent of the 2018/19 National Budget (MK1.2 trillion) went into procurement,” said Ronald Mtonga, Executive Director for Council for Non-Governmental Organizations in Malawi (Congoma).
He was justifying the launch of a project that Congoma is piloting in Lilongwe, Rumphi and Balaka. The “Civic Participation in Public Procurement for Better Public Resource Allocation” Project aims to enhance citizen participation in the public procurement systems and structures in the country.
“As Congoma, we view public procurement as a vital element in the development of the country and with implications at different levels if not properly handled. Where there is no transparency in procurement, government struggles a lot,’ said Mtonga.
The 2015/2016 National Audit Report notes that the country continues to grapple with challenges ranging amongst them; loss of resources to ghost workers, lack of supporting documentation in procurement processes, no stores ledger recorded for goods among other issues.
Launched in March 2019, the year-long project envisions a Civil Society that will be prepared for effective occupation of public procurement spaces for civic empowerment which will in turn enhance transparency and accountability in public procurement processes by February 2020, the time when the project will phase out.
“We hope the project will achieve inclusive public procurement systems, procedures and structures, capacity building for knowledge generation, management and learning as well as enhanced evidence based interface between duty bearers on public procurement and rights holders,” added Mtonga.
The European Union is providing about K80 million for the project through the grants making body in the governance sector, Tilitonse Foundation. For Tilitonse Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, the Project, Congoma is implementing augurs well with his institution’s aspirations as it falls directly under Active Citizenship, Gender and Social Inclusion and Local Governance as one of the result areas.
“Tilitonse Foundation realizes the role effective public procurement contributes to quality service delivery at national level and hope the grant will contribute to better governance and management of resources through a stop to corruption in procurement processes,” Robert White told a gathering of officials in Lilongwe from various NGOs, district councils and government ministries and departments, one of which was the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) Authority.
PPDA Chief Professional Development Officer, Peter Makanga thanked Congoma for the project noting that it will go a long way in aiding improvements in public Procurement citing a monitoring and evaluation tool the umbrella body has put in place as vital in ensuring the success of the project.
“The role of such systems like the one Congoma is putting in place cannot be overemphasized. As PPDA our duty has been to monitor and oversee all procurement activities and processes in the country and ensure that they comply with the current legislation. The challenge comes with decentralization because with decentralization procurement of services, goods and works is taking place at different levels of governance. Therefore the coming in of Congoma with this system is a very welcome development,” said Makanga.
The monitoring system has performance, compliance and integrity as some of the indicators that will assist Congoma and CSOs involved to monitor, evaluate and participate in public procurement processes.
A number of activities have been lined up as part of implementation of this project. Congoma and the NGOs will conduct project introductions to relevant policy holders and partners at both National and local Council levels, reach agreements with policy holders, draft partnership agreements, build capacity for knowledge sharing and learning, train relevant Congoma staff on how to operate the monitoring mechanism among other activities.
According to the 2018 Corruption Perception Index published by the Transparency International, Malawi’s corruption perception was at 120 out of the 180 countries that were assessed.
The encouraging results from the survey however were on the fact that the survey found out that there is broad support among citizens to join NGOs and civic organizations to act as watchdogs of corruption and monitor the misuse of government power.