Critical issues in contract auditing in Nigeria The Open Contracting Data Standard Model

Transcription

1 Critical issues in contract auditing in Nigeria The Open Contracting Data Standard Model Presented by Gift Omoidedia 28 th July,2016 We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

2 Introductions PPDC PPDC is a citizens sector organization that seeks to increase citizens participation in governance in a way that improves the integrity of the public sector processes and prevents corruption. Our Major programs at PPDC are grouped into two flagship programs : Procurement Monitoring: Supporting citizens to participate in the procurement process through sector specific Procurement Monitoring. Homevida: A film award platform that uses media and film technology to drive value change across Nigeria and the African continent. We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

3 What is Public Procurement? Public Procurement is the process through which public institutions and/or institutions carrying out public functions, acquire goods, works or services to meet the identified needs of the citizens of a country. It is The overall process of acquiring goods, works and services, from the identification of need to contract administration and through the end of a services contract or the useful life of an asset. (Procurement Manual, Bureau of Management, Office of Legal and Procurement Support, Jan 2005) We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

4 Relevance of Public Procurement Public procurement determines the efficiency with which public goods, infrastructure and services are delivered to citizens of a country. The state of National Infrastructure and standards of living which are crucial indicators of development, are, largely dependent on procurement effectiveness Ex Federal Attorney General Aondoakaa said that 80% of corruption cases in Nigeria emanate from the procurement of goods, works and services. We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

5 Objectives of the Public Procurement Reforms Ensuring accountability in the Public Procurement Process Attainment of Probity and transparency in the Procurement Process Encouraging competitiveness in the Public Sector Procurement System Entrenching Value for money standards and Practices Professionalizing Procurement Practice

6 Legal Basis for CSO observation in the PPA 2007.S19 PPA 2007 Subject to Regulations as may from time to time be made by the Bureau, under direction of the council, a procuring entity shall, in implementing its procurement plans: A. Advertise and solicit for bids.. B. To invite two credible persons as observers in every procurement process one person each representing a recognized i. Private sector professional.. ii. Non Governmental Organisation working in transparency, accountability and anti-corruption areas, We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

7 Some benchmarks in Procurement Observation: Nature of the Procurement Process: Is it goods, works, or services or a combination process? Sources of funding; e.g. Funded by the Federal Government or jointly funded by the Federal Government and state Government (Note that the PPA 2007 applies to all projects that receive up to 35% funding from the FG; ) Availability and contents of Procurement plans Chosen procurement methodology and rationale behind the chosen procurement methodology Was the Procurement Process Advertised? Where was it advertised? What was the duration of the advertisement? Contents of the advertisement: Professional/technical/financial requirements, tax/pension clearance Was there a bid register at the bid opening session? Were bidders registered chronologically? Did the bid opening take place at the time stipulated in the bid opening? Was the procurement contained in the annual budget? We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

8 Framework for Public Access to Procurement Information In Nigeria, two relevant laws exist which confers a right of access to publicly held information on procurement. These two laws are: The Public Procurement Act, 2007 and The Freedom of Information Act, 2011 We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

9 Access to Procurement Information under the FOIA, 2011 With the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, the right of citizens access to publicly held information was further extended. Thus, a request for information on procurement/contract records may be brought using both the PPA and the FOIA. The objectives of the FOIA includes: Making public records & information more freely available, Providing mechanisms for public access to publicly held records And the protection of public records & information to the extent that such protection is consistent with the public interest & the protection of personal privacy The FOI Act has a broader scope of application than the PPA as it applies to all public institutions of any description. It may also apply to private entities or bodies, which may not be covered by the PPA. Section 31 Interpretation of Public Institution The FOI Act therefore covers all of the institutions covered by the PPA & more. NOTE ALSO; That the Act supersedes any other Act, Law or Regulation, including the Official Secrets Act, the Criminal Code, the Penal Code or any other enactment where the right of access to information is involved. We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

10 Access to Procurement Information under the FOIA, 2011 (2) Section 2 of the Act provides a list of information and records that public institutions are required to keep under the Act. These includes information relating to the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of the institutions, materials containing information relating to any grant or contract made by or between the institution and another public institution or private organization. And to ensure that information referred to in this section is widely disseminated and made readily available to members of the public through various means, including print, electronic and online sources and at the offices of such public institutions. We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

11 Open Contracting and Open Contracting Data Standards QUESTION: How do we go about accessing government contracts? Online Search? Request for Information? Physical walk-in QUESTION: Is there a database for government contracts? Is it in a format that is easy to download and use? How do we identify a contract in the budget phase and connect it with the same contract at the implementation phase? Is there one identity to bind all the stages of a particular contract?

12 Open Contracting and Open Contracting Data Standards Open Contracting is about disclosure + participation. The Open Contracting Principles cover a wide range of areas of reform to improve the use of public resources. OCDS builds on these principles, and the ultimate goal of OCDS is to deliver open contracting. Open Data is the idea that government should publish their data so that it can be reused. This requires data to be accessible, machine readable and for permission to be granted for re-use. Where data on contacting is currently published, it is often through portals that require a login, without clear licenses for data use, and in forms that make it tricky to re-use. Many countries are making commitments to open data, and open contracting can be promoted as one part of this. A data standard sets out how to format data so that it is machine readable. A data standard resolves ambiguity, and helps different systems work out how to interpret information.

13 Open Contracting and Open Contracting Data Standards Open Contracting is about disclosure + participation. Information on all stages of the contracting process; Designed around user need and global interoperability;

14 Examples of countries running OC Colombia, Mexico Paraguay Ukraine - Prozorro We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

15 USES of OCDS OCDS was designed around four distinct use cases: Value for Money Detecting Fraud and Corruption Competing for Contracts Monitoring Service Delivery

16 USES of OCDS Value for Money: What? How? Why OCDS? Achieving value in procurement Assessing value in concluded contracts Price trend analysis Supplier performance trend analysis Comparable data Common classifications Unit pricing OCDS allows analysis and comparisons across organisations, regions and countries Non standard data can make individual item classifications/costs hard to find - they may be buried in documents etc.

17 USES of OCDS Detecting Fraud and Corruption: What? How? Why OCDS? Scrutiny of procurement documents Identification of red flags Micro monitoring Systemic monitoring Disclosure of documents Interoperable data Globally unique identifiers OCDS allows analysis and comparisons across organisations, regions and countries Non standard data can make individual item classifications/costs hard to find - they may be buried in documents etc.

18 USES of OCDS Competing for contracts: What? How? Why OCDS? Understanding the procurement pipeline Identifying opportunities Review historic data to identify re-contracting opportunities Transparency on dates, pricing and deliverables Forward and backward looking data Making information available early is a key principle of OCDS Unique identification of procuring entities Historical pricing information levels the playing field for suppliers Suppliers can understand the spend profile of given agency/department and offer innovative solutions

19 USES of OCDS Monitoring delivery: What? How? Why OCDS? Ensuring public contracting delivers value to citizens Linking budgets and buying data to contracts and results Joined up data on budgets, contracts and implementation Disclosure at all stages: not just tender and award OCDS promotes disclosure of information from all stages of the contracting process to facilitate monitoring of delivery Data is interoperable allowing reusable tools to be built to drive participation OCDS promotes dynamic updates rather than a publish and forget approach - particularly important for this use case, e.g. implementation updates

20 STAGES COVERED Planning Tender Award Contract Implementation We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

21 Is OCDS...a guide on how to build a data entry form, or front-end visualization for contracting information? No. The input and output should be designed around local user needs. OCDS provides guidance on which fields to publish but not how that data should be collected....a framework for building an e-procurement system? No. But the building blocks have been used and extended to provide data models for Ukraine s ProZorro system, easing the publication to OCDS. Mapping against OCDS can ensure e-procurement systems are capturing all the relevant data for disclosure....a policy and technology standard for disclosure? Yes. The basic, intermediate and advanced levels describe what should be published. The schema describes how it should be published. However, disclosure via OCDS is only one part of broader open contracting policy agenda: and adopting OCDS should be linked to wider change.

22 BUDESHI We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

23 Visualizing Budeshi

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32 Resources Resources are available on our library at Like us on facebook: Nigerian Procurement Monitoring Project Follow us We Educate, We Empower, We Mobilize for Integrity in Governance

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