End of Commitment Report – Improving Transparency in the Procurement Processes

Name of Evaluator

David Wuyep

Email

djwuyep@gmail.com

Member Name

Plateau, Nigeria

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Plateau, Nigeria, 2021 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Improving TransparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in the Procurement Processes

Action

Commitment: improve transparency in the procurement process, by strengthening existing policy guidelines Commitment process: reforming existing policies to ensure more efficient operationalization of the public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More law. Results: Technological systems are functioning efficiently and without interruptions. Objective: Public funds are utilized better and development reaches more populations and communities in the state

Problem

Diminished / inefficient monitoring and tracking of procurement processes, means that revenue losses and malpractices continue unhindered. This translates to huge revenue losses which lead to an uneven distribution of wealth and development Interrupted public access to the recently developed and launched OCDS platform and the e-procurement platform diminishes citizen’s uptake and use of procurement data and information. Policy directives do not empower the bureau to receive the procurement process from the MDAs. This translates to a lack of sufficient data and information for public disclosure A parallel unit and ad-hoc committee, which should have been dissolved on setting up the Bureau for public procurement, continues to exist. This is in contradiction to the law establishing the bureau. Furthermore, decision-making has become convoluted, which diminishes bureau’s efficacy in monitoring procurement processes.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Limited

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

This commitment contains six milestones out of which the first milestone has been completed. Two milestones have been partially implemented while implementation has not started for the remaining three milestones.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• E-procurement

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted the implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

The main factor that impacted the implementation of this commitment is the lack of adequate funding to carry out the activities. Whereas the Technical Working Group reached out to some donors for funding, none of the applications were successful.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

Few of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Out of six milestones, one was implemented, and two others were at varying levels of completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More, while implementation has not started for three of the milestones.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• E-procurement

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The reviewed policy guidelines will make room for better implementation of the Plateau State Public Procurement Law 2018. Furthermore, the implementation of the Open DataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... Policy ensured that procurement data from 4four key Ministries that constitute over 70% of the state’s budget (Works, EducationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ..., Health, and Agriculture) were uploaded on the Bureau for Public Procurement website, making it available and accessible to citizens of Plateau State and other interested parties.

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Though the Bureau of Public Procurement website has been in existence before now, implementing the Open Data Policy which involves uploading of procurement data has increased accessibility of procurement data to citizens and contractors thereby opening the space for wider participation by stakeholders.

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

With procurement data uploaded, citizens have the opportunity to hold government officials accountable. Also, the updated policy guidelines will lead to better implementation of the Plateau State Public Procurement Law 2018.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• E-procurement

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

Though it has not completely addressed the problem since the commitment has not been completely implemented, the milestone that has been achieved and those that are work-in-progress address some of the problems. For instance, the procurement data uploaded on the BPP website have improved stakeholders’ access to information.

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

More effort should be made towards funding the commitment both from the government’s budget and from development partners. Also, there should be fewer activities. For example, the last milestone in respect of household surveys can be a stand-alone commitment in a subsequent State Action Plan.