Benon C. Basheka (Ph.D)bbasheka@yahoo.co.uk

Public Procurement in any country is intended to achieve certain objectives while following certain fundamental principles to benefit different stakeholders

Its objectives are only achievable if systems practice elements of good governance

Bad governance is regarded as a source of evil in our societies

GG is characterized by: Participation by both men and women,

which could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives.

Participation also means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society (i.e. all other stakeholders other than Government & Army) on the other hand

To assess the public procurement legal framework and practices in Uganda from a CSO point of view demands one to torch into:What spaces for CSO are provided by the

procurement laws and institutional arrangements

What procurement practices exist in Uganda that encourage or promote the participation exist to encourage their participation

A position will then need to be taken on whether the CSO organizations either feel happy or aggrieved with the public procurement system

Assessment is influenced by the prevailing conditions and practices

It may also be influenced by the ‘angle one is standing on and definitely the kind of lens’

I will use the lens of a CSO society organization (IPPU) but the angle will oscillate between procurement reform episodes that the country has undertaken

There has been a changing role of governments in the delivery of services –Ideology has always played an important part in this journey

Role of government in a socialist state is different from the role of government in a capitalist state

Reforms that were a common feature in the 1980s and 1990s were intended to reduce the role of the state and include other players

Private sector regarded as the ‘only doctor’ during the 1980s

Civil Society organizationsTraditional and religious

InstitutionsThe Public The MediaThe development partners

The Politics-Administration Dichotomy (1887-1926)

The Principles of Administration (1927-1937)

The era of challenges (1938-1947) The identity crisis (1948-1970)

From Public Administration to public Management (1970-1990)

From public Management to Governance (1990-2008)

From 2008 to 2010……………?????????

From Governance to New Public Governance (2010-todate)

They came to ‘help’ government and the private sector

However, some people still deny them space for active participation and one area has been public procurement

CSO are regarded as ‘intruders’ in the business of public procurement

And yet CSO offer a complementary role to improving the public procurement system

Transparency Accountability Value for money Efficiency and effectiveness Rule of law Delivery of services to the marginalized

members of societyPublic procurement stands for the same

principles

Uganda has the best laws and policies but the practices there of are problematic

Procurement is rules-based and entities have to religiously follow the rules

But people have devised sophisticated means of defeating the systems

From a CSO point of view, the system of procurement has created ‘an informal network’ at all levels of government where procurement matters are influenced

•Rules bound – a clear set of rules for all players for both inclusion and exclusion.

•A set of basic principles upon which the system is built.

•Accountable at each stage.•Segregation of responsibilities.

•Time bound – clearly defined timeframe for each stage.

•Public accessibility to information?????.

•A defined reporting regime.• A clearly defined procurement cycle

Options on the procurement methods. A complaints or administrative review

mechanism. Use of templates & forms. A system of sanctions and penalties

for both the staff & providers. A business code of ethicsGOVERNED BY PRINCIPLES

Transparency International-Uganda Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda Some Professionals of procurement Existing documents in the print media Visited the PPDA website My personal knowledge and experience

both in academia and practice

Interference in the procurement systems is obvious

Questions of professionalism by some experts is on the increase

Procurement corruption is showing its true African colors'

There is increasing mistrust of stakeholders in procurement at different levels

Almost all major contracts involving huge money are increasingly chaotic and interfered with

Costs of engaging in procurement is increasingly high on the part of the providers

Preference for international firms and consultants in jobs which could be locally done but where is capacity??????

Procurement policies do not place emphasis on research and no budget allocations are made for this critical function

Public Procurement seems to have become a fertile ground for fighting ‘political wars’

The transition from a procurement system managed by politicians to one managed by technical people seems not to have addressed the intended objectives

Public Private partnerships are being promoted as a solution to service delivery challenges

Development partners seem to be unhappy with what is happening

CSOs are demanding space for involvement but it appears to only stop at consultative forums but decisions are made in boardrooms

Public procurement is increasingly gaining a bad public perception but young people still scramble to attain procurement qualifications

High level procurement corruption scandals seem to be too many

There are a number of calls for administrative reviews but there will also be an increase in the number of firms being recommended for suspension

We are likely to see more court cases involving public procurement-a situation that has previously been uncommon in Uganda

The corrupt seem to be becoming more corrupt and the poor are likely to become more poorer

For example, a quick search from the WWW and government websites bring out some of the following examples to drive the point home:-

Another Ugandan Weapons Procurement Scandal-April 2011

Mulago national referral hospital can not perform open heart surgeries to expectation, unless government relaxes bureaucracies in the procurement system.

Dr Omagino said that the current procurement system which requires them to advertise, pre-qualify and select suppliers was strenuous.

He said that they will only resume operations after receiving a reply from the ministry of health on the waiver to import the supplies.

At the heart of the scandal was the procurement of a building that set senior IGG officials on the contracts committee on a collision course with colleagues on the technical evaluation committee.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) stepped in and stopped the questionable procurement directing a new and transparent process

(Wednesday, 12 October 2011 17:19 ). ….Three ministers ‘resigned’ following

indictments over their alleged role in the Shs 14b tender for fixing Speke Resort Munyonyo, ahead of the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala.

And several other cabinet ministers have also been mentioned in another explosive corruption case gaining momentum relating to Oil exploration.

The top leadership of the Government, including the president and the Prime minister are reported to have taken extensive bribes from the oil companies, that are drilling oil in Uganda

Three directors of a ghost company that is being investigated by parliament over the local council bicycle scandal have finally been named by a senior government official at the center of the procurement.

The company is accused of allegedly taking 4.7 billion shillings from the Ministry of Local Government and disappearing before delivering the bicycles meant to be distributed to village local councils

Awaiting Disposal

Requires collaboration of stakeholders CSO need to be involved and this

should be based on mutual trust ‘The only thing necessary for evil to

triumph is for good men to do nothing” – Sir Edmond Burke