THE ROLE OF PACs IN MONITORING THE ECONOMIC, EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE AWARDING OF STATE CONTRACTS –PARLIAMENT PERSPECTIVE

Presentation to the 10th SADCOPAC Annual Conference by Hon. Usutuaije Maamberua

PAC Chairperson – Namibia3 September 2013

Outline of the Presentation

• Introduction• Objectives of Presentation• State Contracts in Focus• Namibian Experience• Sensitive Areas of interest by PACs• Role of PACs in Awarding of State Contracts

Objectives of Presentation

• Highlight structure and process of procurement in Namibia

• Challenges• Areas where Namibia needs experience• Some Recommendations

INTRODUCTION

• Government Procurement/Public tendering or Public Procurement is the Procurement of Goods and services on behalf of a public Authority ( State).

• Government Procurement accounts for a substantial part of the Global Economy more so in developing countries

State Contracts in Focus

• Public procurement is one of most important channels of government spending accounting for 10-15% of GDP

• Some Government procurements follow the Agreement on Government Procurement ( GPA) a plurilateral international Treaty under the auspices of the WTO

State Contracts in focus conti…

• Public procurement is a system where public needs meet private offers, a gate between public and private sphere, a sphere with huge corruption risks

• Good regulations and transparent procedures are necessary to minimize these risks and to create market of tenders that render government procurement system effective and foster competition

State contracts in Focus contn..

• To ensure efficiency and effectiveness government procurements should have established prescribed principles to abide by such as;

Value for Money, Open Competition, Ethics, Accountability and Equity

State Contracts in Focus

• State contracts are geared towards the provision of goods and service delivery , thus if done successfully it has huge prospects of improving living standards and development

• It is an important tool for achieving socio-economic objectives of any given country

The Namibian Experience

REGULATION

• Public Procurement is adjudicated by Tender Board of Namibia under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance

• Tender Board regulated by Tender Board Act no. 16 of 1996

• There is no Public Procurement Monitoring Body.

Regulation Continu….

REGULATION• Namibia has ministerial tender committees at

O/M/As • Monitoring is the accountability of the

O/M/As, of which quarterly reports are submitted to the Tender Board.

Namibian Experience continu…

Lack of experience in Monitoring:• Bilateral Loans• Multi lateral loans – jointly funded• Declaration of interests• Government Guarantees

Sensitive Areas of Interest by PACs

• Over- Pricing• Collusion Practices• Price Overruns• Social security payment evasion• Tax evasion• Poor service delivery• Bad labour practices

Role of PACs in the award of State Contracts

RECOMMEDATIONS• Due to the vulnerability of Public Procurement

system to corrupt practices, it is imperative the award of state contracts is monitored to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness.

• Monitoring of state contracts be clearly spelt out within the mandate of PAC as huge sums of public money is at stake

Recommendations Conti..

• PACs should advocate for the development of research tools which evaluate contemporary trends, strategies, tactics and techniques evolving within the Public Procurement sphere

Recommendations Contin..

• PACs should advocate for sustained training programmes of Public Procurement entities staff to ensure they deliver efficient and effective work

• Engage Public Procurement Institutions regularly to keep abreast of their work

I THANK YOU FOR LISTENING