Grossly inadequate

THE FIRST-EVER report of the regulator set up to implement the almost ten-year-old legal regime enacted to combat bobol was tabled in Parliament on September 9. It is a dispiriting read.

According to the Office of Procurement Regulation’s Annual Report to Parliament for April 2023-April 2024, public body contracts totalling about $5 billion were awarded in contravention of the basic tenet of free and fair competition.

“Notwithstanding that the new public procurement regime established open bidding as the default procurement method, the office observed an excessive use of limited and non-competitive procurement methods, with considerable increases as the reporting quarters progressed,” states the report.

“Single and sole source methods were frequently used, indicating a level of resistance to the use of open bidding methods by public bodies.”

Not being ready is one thing. Deliberately pushing back against change is another. Over time, the former transforms into a clear sign of the latter, as the regulator has clearly now assessed.

Since the watershed Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act – itself the fruit of almost five years of parliamentary development and scrutiny – was passed in 2015 there have been only excuses.

Leaders and officials repeatedly justified delays in full implementation, citing the need to ready public bodies. Even the judiciary, just two years ago, belatedly penned a missive attesting to being inadequately prepared for what it saw then as a potential deluge.

It is therefore astonishing – though hardly surprising – to learn that notwithstanding the full proclamation of the law, finally, in April 2023, the Procurement Regulator Beverly Khan could not even issue an initial report for the end of the fiscal year 2022.

In her own words, “the level of preparedness for the transformative change brought on by the full proclamation of the act was grossly inadequate.”

It is clear the piecemeal way in which the law has been tinkered with, as well as the role played by subsidiary legislation, has made matters worse.

The regime was partially proclaimed on the eve of an election in 2015, before full operation in April 2023. It was amended no less than four times through acts tabled in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2023. Ten regulations were issued prior to “simplified” regulations this year as we head to another poll.

It is interesting the regulator has thus far held her hand in terms of enforcement, stating, “the decision was taken to delay reporting to provide a fair opportunity to public bodies to improve their level of reporting.” At the same time, she warns, in future “the office will adopt a stricter stance.”

However, having effectively given public bodies a bligh, it is hard to see things truly changing in the immediate future.