Written By: Dr. Davidson Aminu

Public procurement is a public policy of government formulated to address developmental challenges and governance.  Many countries today are using the policy and implementation mechanism to tackle many problems that have to do with budget implementation, service delivery, social and economic development. 

This is a response to the evolving complexities of the global market place and part of efforts to obtain the best possible value and ensure equitable and efficient deployment of public resources. Public procurement is all about acquisition of goods and services at the best possible total cost, in the right quantity and quality at the right time, in the right place for the benefit or use of government, corporations or individuals through contract.

The objective of procurement policy is to promote transparency and accountability in governance.  It is to ensure that the requisite standards are transparently maintained in the conduct of government business.  Sound procurement practices constitute part of the essential element of good governance, just as poor practices lead to waste and delays and are often the causes of corruption and by implication, bad governance.  It is on the basis of this that most government in Africa have come to realise that a well-organised procurement systems contributes to good governance by increasing confidence and assuring judicious government spending.

The implementation of public procurement policy started in 2007 in Nigeria when the Procurement Act was passed by the National Assembly.  In introducing the Procurement Policy, government took cognisance of the fact that increasing the efficiency and transparency in the use of public fund requires the existence of an adequate national procurement system that meet both national and international standards.  This is also in view of the fact that quality of procurement practices in a country is determined by the quality of governance therein.  Governance is a key determining factor of the productiveness of public procurement. The question that readily comes to mind is if the procurement policy has helped to promote good governance in Nigeria after twelve years of its introduction.  This is in view of the fact that the Nigerian experience of poverty in the midst of resources abundance is essentially attributable to deficiencies in the procurement systems in the past, which was inefficient, easy to manipulate, difficult to control, non-transparent to bidders and the public alike, and corruption ridden.

The policy, to some extent, has brought about good governance as it has helped to ensure that budgets and spending by government are now based on open and competitive process within the limit of budgeting provision.  Government expenditure is now geared towards the realization of set priorities and targets at the most effective cost and efficient basis. 

Since the introduction of the policy, only projects budgeted for were presented for certification and subsequent execution.  Through the policy, government has, within few years of its introduction, able to cancel awards of contracts found to have fallen short of criteria on procurement principles and practices.  Government has also been able to save several billions of Naira from review of contract process before issuance of certificate of ‘No Objection’ and contract vetting.

A lot of money that would have been stolen or lost through inflated contracts costs are now being saved to meet developmental projects for the benefits of the public.  The policy has brought about transparency, accountability, due process, fairness and value for money, which are critical elements of good governance.  The policy has also helped to promote efficient and effective service delivery in addition to improvement in the value of money due to increased standard of quality of service, as unnecessary purchases are being avoided to ensure that money spent is well worth and would provide maximum benefits for the end users.

The successes recorded not withstanding, there are still implementation challenges.  According to the Bureau, Procurement activities in most MDAs are still shrouded in secrecy and not in line with international best practices.  This and other challenges should be tackled headlong now for a better tomorrow.

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