Increase transparency and inclusivity of public contracts (LR0041)

5.1 Ensure transparency in government procurement by adopting the open contracting data standard; 5.2 Raise awareness among general public about government procurement processes; 5.3 Engage with civil society and the private sector to improve public procurement processes; 5.4 Facilitate participation of more women owned businesses in public contracts. The commitment seeks to improve accountability through open contracting by adopting international standards to make contracting information open to the public and create a forum to provide oversight for procurement processes. Publishing contracting information will increase government accountability, promote fair competition, encourage civic oversight and help the government to learn from previous successes and failures. Contract transparency is essential for responsible management of resources to ensure equitable economic growth and development. Publishing information on how the Liberian government is managing resources will make information available for public awareness and participation by opening avenues for the public to hold the government accountable for use of public funds. The following milestones will be reached to fulfill this commitment: 1. Adopt open contracting data standard, a global open-source tool to enable disclosure of data and documents along the entire contracting process (the planning, tenders, awards, contracts and implementation phases) and application of this standard to public projects; 2. Establish administrative directive and guidelines and ethical codes mandating application of the open contracting system for public contracts; 3. Publish all contracting data on the open data portal by default, which will also be compliant with the open contracting data standard; 4. Timely updates of information on the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) eProcurement and Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s open contracting platform; 5. Civic education on procurement and contracting processes to support citizens in understanding how these processes happen and their duties to oversee them, through a specific, time-bound sensitization campaign 6. Establish an open contracting forum comprising government, civil society and the private sector to ensure sustained engagement, oversight and improved procurement processes. The forum will follow the open government principles of equal participation and co-creation and will be tasked to select a number of projects to monitor using the open contracting data standard and web portal. Milestone Activity With a Verifiable Deliverable Deadline: Responsible agency 1. Adoption of the open contracting data standard, a global open-source tool, making data and documents in the contracting process available to the public. This includes planning, tenders, awards, contracts and implementation. Begins January 2021 and ongoing until December 2022 PPCC 2. Establish administrative directive and guidelines and ethical codes mandating application of the open contracting system for public contracts. Begins January 2021 and ongoing until December 2022 PPCC 3. Monitor procuring entities and institutions receiving subsidies to track compliance with the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC). Begins January 2021 and ongoing until December 2022 PPCC 4. Publish all contracting data on the open data portal in order to be compliant with the open contracting data standard. Begins January 2021 and ongoing until December 2022 PPCC 5. Conduct at least 6 outreach events to increase citizens’ understanding of the procurement and contracting processes. Begins January 2021 and ongoing until December 2022 PPCC (collaborate with CSOs) 6. Establish an open contracting forum comprising government, civil society and the Begins January 2021 and ongoing PPCC (explore collaborating with private sector to ensure sustained engagement, oversight and improved procurement processes. The forum will follow the OGP principles of equal participation and co-creation and will be tasked to select a number of projects to monitor using the open contracting data standard and web portal. until December 2022 stakeholders/actor in public procurement)

Action Plan Review

Commitment 5: Open and Inclusive Contracting Standards

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

Commitment 5: Open and Inclusive Contracting Standards (Public Procurement and Concessions Commission)

For a complete description see commitment 5 in https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/liberia-action-plan-2020-2022/

Context and objectives

This commitment was carried over from Liberia’s previous action plan, as it was not started. ^[37] Corruption in public procurement has been a long-standing issue in Liberia, resulting in a significant loss of government revenue. ^[38] Open contracting forms one prong of the Liberian government’s anticorruption agenda. The OGP Steering Committee chose to continue this commitment in the current action plan. Milestone 5 responds to citizen proposals to enhance women’s awareness and participation in government procurement processes. [39]

This commitment seeks to reduce corruption and improve transparency and accountability in public procurement. It aims to do so by adopting the Open Contracting Data Standard, ^[40] instituting timely and comprehensive publication of contract data, engaging in civic outreach, and establishing a multistakeholder open contracting forum to monitor compliance. Resultantly, this commitment is relevant to all three OGP values: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability.

Prior to the launch of the action plan, the OGP Liberia Secretariat engaged the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), the media, and civil society organizations to begin engaging women entrepreneurs. The commitment text does not specify activities to address challenges facing women in business. However, the Secretariat noted that the intention is to engage women entrepreneurs and the media to create awareness about government procurement processes and opportunities. The PPCC will provide training on how the media and women can be involved in public procurement. [41]

Potential for results: Substantial

Liberia has gradually moved toward open contracting since the passage of the Public Procurement and Concession Act in 2010. ^[42] The Public Procurement and Concessions Commission’s eProcurement Platform currently provides basic information, such as a list of businesses eligible to compete for public tenders, calls for proposals, and approved contracts over 10,000 USD. ^[43]

According to a 2017 review, procurement information disclosure is not standard practice in Liberia. Information is published in closed formats and is often untimely and incomplete. There is a lack of technical capacity and infrastructure. The lack affects the ability of the government to disclose data and the ability of civil society and the public to make use of the data. Resultantly, the government and civil society struggle to monitor implementation of contracts. The Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) has faced compliance and technical challenges in publishing public contracts in the extractives sector, as mandated by the 2009 LEITI Act. ^[44] Online publication of all procurement contracts, in an accessible and timely manner, would therefore be a significant improvement from the status quo.

Examples from around the world demonstrate that greater transparency and accountability in public procurement leads to government savings, increased competition, and improved public services. Vitally, open contracting would also contribute to increased citizen trust in government. ^[45] Women’s participation in public procurement as users, planners, and suppliers is critical for the creation and monitoring of effective public services. [46] Media involvement in government procurement is important for transparency and accountability.

This commitment includes ambitious milestones to strengthen procurement transparency and accountability. However, there remains opportunity to further increase its ambition by actively creating spaces for women’s participation and media monitoring of government contracting.

Opportunities, challenges and recommendations during implementation

As with other commitments, the greatest challenge will be implementation. A change in

government and Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) leadership stalled implementation in the last action plan. [47] With this in mind, the IRM recommends the following:

• The executive branch should grant the PPCC sufficient independence. ^[48] It should also install sufficient leadership stability ^[49] for the PPCC to carry out its mandate and execute this commitment.
• The PPCC could undertake an advocacy strategy and create a coalition of influential allies to implement open contracting reforms. ^[50] The Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) is happy to support the government and civil society organization partners. OCP also offers resources for strategic communications and power mapping. ^[51]
• The PPCC could explore working with the OCP, which expressed a desire to support implementation, especially regarding adopting the Open Contracting Data Standard, engaging women, and implementing procurement process oversight. [52]
• The PPCC could identify key achievable goals, such as flagging tenders and awards vulnerable to corruption—as demonstrated by Makueni County in Kenya’s Corruption Risk Dashboard—or publishing data on women’s engagement. ^[53]
• The PPCC and civil society partners should clearly articulate how the commitment’s activities would contribute to gender equality in procurement. Specifically, the PPCC can consider the following examples from African OGP members:
  • Kenya has committed to give 30 percent of procurement opportunities to women, youth, and people with disabilities. Citizen consultations and monitoring will also prioritize these groups. ^[54]
  • Nigeria committed to include women-centered organizations in its Public Procurement Monitoring Working Group. ^[55]

Results Report

Commitment 5. OPEN AND INCLUSIVE CONTRACTING STANDARDS

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? Marginal

Context and Objectives:

Corruption in public procurement has been a long-standing issue resulting in significant loss of government revenue. This commitment outlines four objectives: adopting the open contracting data standard, raising awareness on government procurement processes, engaging civil society and the private sector to improve public procurement, and facilitating participation of more women-owned businesses in public contracts. Online publication of all procurement in a timely and accessible manner would be a game changer not only in addressing corruption but in establishing conversations on gender parity in public procurement. This commitment was carried forward from the previous action plan, as it was not started due to the change in government administration, including leadership changes at the PPCC. [30]

Implementers adopted some recommendations provided in the Action Plan Review, such as the creation of influential allies to implement the open contracting reforms. PPCC worked closely with The World Bank, Africa Development Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and NIF, whose members are government agencies and CSOs collaborating to advance open contracting reforms.

Did It Open Government? Marginal

At the time of assessment, this commitment had had a marginal impact on open government practices. During the implementation period, the PPCC made progress toward establishing the regulatory and technical scaffolding for a transparent public procurement system. Activities also included training and awareness raising and a survey and roundtables on women’s participation in public procurement. Therefore, this commitment has made steps toward government transparency and civic participation in government decision-making. Once the electronic system is operational, this reform has the potential to also advance public accountability. This commitment is considered as having achieved a limited level of completion by the time of assessment, as progress was made under milestones 1 and 5. While important, these steps have not yet resulted in the commitment’s overall objective to adhere to open and inclusive contracting standards.

Changes over implementation period

E-procurement system and regulation around this

Progress on this topic touches on milestones 1–4. An interview with Nathan Bengu [31] from PPCC shared that preliminaries to ensure the e-procurement system is in place are ongoing. These include:

1. Publishing of an expression of interest for the revision of the Public Procurement Act of Liberia and its accompanying regulations to prepare for the Electronic Procurement System. [32] A press release on the PPCC website noted that once finalized, this platform “will have linkages with other online applications, including the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), revenue portal of Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Liberia Business Registry, and the anticipated e-Government system.” [33] This process is supported by World Bank.
2. A technical committee made up of PPCC, the judiciary branch, and Liberian Petroleum Refining Company reviewed the law and made recommendations on changes to be considered. A press release [34] on the PPCC website notes that the team took time to learn from the Nigerian state of Kaduna and Rwanda and from this made certain decisions—for example, the choice of software-as-a-service for their e-government procurement (e-GP) system. Recommendations include inclusion of the e-procurement portal, catalog, framework agreement, and public-private partnership; setup and oversight of a procurement professional association; suggestions on membership revision; and guidance on how to include women-owned micro-, small, and medium sized enterprises in public contracts.
3. An e-GP strategy was developed to guide the process of procurement, installation, and deployment of the e-GP application. The strategy provides a needs assessment and outlines the phases for rollout.
4. PPCC put out a call for proposals on 21 September 2022 [35] for the development of the e-GP. A pre-bid meeting report on 19 October 2022 indicated that 27 bidders had submitted their bids and the committee was responding to clarifications, [36] and an extension for submission to 11 January 2023 was published on 15 November 2022. [37]
5. With support from Africa Development Bank and World Bank, PPCC staff attended learning sessions from their peers [38] and hosted awareness-raising events for staff and recruitment of staff. [39]

Regarding civil society participation in the commitment, Anderson Miamen of CENTAL [40] reported that PPCC has been engaging with suppliers and CSOs and sharing with them the new standards in the systems. Additionally, CENTAL had invited PPCC to speak on a radio program on the reforms in the procurement processes, especially on e-procurement. These actions have laid groundwork for future disclosure of government-held information to citizens, other government agencies, and CSOs.

As PPCC goes through the e-GP setup process, it is continuing with its usual disclosure practices. A review of its official website shows that PPCC publishes some information on public contracts awarded. There is a matrix ^[41] with analysis/information on all contracts awarded in fiscal year 2021–22. Information shared in the matrix includes contract code, contract type, package description, procurement estimated contract value, actual contract value, awarding entity, business legal owner, business beneficial owner, contract start date, and contract end date. The PPCC has also approved procurement plans and the complaints on procurement. Even with this effort, the information is incomplete and not up to date, and it does not meet standards set by the Open Contracting Data Standards. ^[42] This must be resolved to advance transparency with the current systems.

Civic education on procurement and contracting process

Under milestone 5, Nathan Bengu [43] and a review of the PPCC website, indicates that the following key activities were undertaken over the 2020–2022 NAP:

1. A total of 23 staff were brought on board to spearhead awareness-raising sessions on the e‑GP and on public procurement. [44]
2. Between 5 and 8 April 2022, PPCC ran a public procurement compliance workshop in Nimba County for county authorities: county superintendents and their deputies; heads of county-based institutions (health and education sectors); chairs of project management committees; and county procurement officers/technicians from Nimba, RiverCess, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Bomi, and Grand Bassa counties. [45]
3. In 2021, PPCC hosted a series of awareness campaigns targeting students in secondary schools, colleges, and universities, and intellectuals from Montserrado, Bong, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Margibi, and Nimba counties. [46]
4. In collaboration with the OGP Secretariat, PPCC hosted a workshop on 3 November 2020 with the journalists and CSO actors to share “knowledge and experiences on the implementation of the Public Procurement reform program and its accompanying pieces of legislations.” [47]

Progress witnessed was a result of a funding partnership with Africa Development Bank and UNDP. This shows that PPCC is taking steps to raise awareness on public procurement, while envisioning and bringing on board additional actors to the process. Continuation of these activities will advance civic engagement.

Involvement of women-owned business in public procurement

A review of the PPCC website showed that there was some progress in advancing gender equality in public procurement, which will positively contribute to women’s civic participation in public procurement. Greater inclusion of women in public procurement is one of the stated objectives of this commitment. Although specific milestones toward this aim were not specified, completed activities contributing to this objective during the implementation period include:

2022. PPCC conducted a nationwide survey on gender-responsive procurement in 2021 and 2022. This process kicked off with roundtable discussions with stakeholders from ministries, agencies, and autonomous commissions on different gender-sensitive strategies and policies in public procurement and concessions. The discussions informed the data collection process in nine counties: Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Bong, Maryland, Grand Gedeh, and Sinoe counties. The data collectors interacted with procurement entities, business owners, and citizens. [48] This survey report was not available online.
2023. The head of UN Women Liberia visited PPCC and restated the organization’s commitment to supporting gender-responsive procurement in the country. From this meeting it was reported that PPCC is developing a policy framework that will outline women’s roles in public procurement. [49]
2024. A gender technical team within PPCC is focusing on improving engagement of women-owned business in public procurement. [50] Information on this committee or any reports connected to its work was not available online.

Establishment of an open contracting forum

Nathan Bengu [51] reported that the open contracting forum has not been established. However, he said that by law PPCC is required to host an annual procurement forum. The 2021 Annual Procurement Forum was held on 1–3 December 2021. This meeting was supported by World Bank. Attendance included representation from World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and CSOs. The theme of the forum was Innovation and Reforms: Strengthening Liberia’s Public Procurement System. [52] 

Bengu also shared, as did other members of CSOs, that PPCC is an active member of the NIF. The Director at PPCC chairs the NIF, ^[53] which constantly pushes for implementation of the OGP Action Plan 2020–2022. PPCC shares information on public procurement with NIF members as part of its contribution to improving transparency, civic participation, and accountability.

Looking Ahead:

Nathan Bengu [54] recognized all action to date “as the journey to open contracting.” As such, he noted that once finalized, the e-GP would address milestones 3 and 4. Reflecting on implementation together and reviewing literature, the following are recommendations:

• Progress on the milestones so far was only possible with financial support from development partners. This seemed to complement PPCC commitment in seeing the rollout of the e-GP. Bengu noted that there was a slow start in 2020, as there was not requisite budgetary support to kick off activities in-country or to engage with other countries around peer learning. So far, PPCC has funding from UNDP, World Bank, and AfDB to push on the e-GP; raise awareness on public procurement; and, with support from UN Women, do more on gender-responsive budgeting. He stated that the OGP commitments should not be seen as separate actions but should be integrated into the core programs of implementing agencies.
• With this in mind, commitments and milestones should be deliberately crafted and guided by different PPCC strategies. If crafted well, the commitments and milestones will have a greater potential to deliver substantial results. The platform alone is not adequate unless it is updated with timely and adequate contract information. Establishment of the open contracting forum, as envisaged in the action plan, will not only fast-track delivery of an open contracting system but remain a useful platform for constant conversation on the effectiveness of the platform in delivering on its open government objective.
• Bengu noted there was an opportunity to broaden awareness and engagement sessions beyond Monrovia. This would ensure that local CSOs and business and county officials are on board as the e-GP is being rolled out.
• He shared that the team desires to make sure that the platform developed by the consultant builds in adaptability of the Liberia context.