Procurement

Procurement Principles

Accountability

Accountability is the last public procurement principle that we will address. Accountability in public procurement essentially means to be responsible for our actions and decisions, and having the obligation to report and/or answer to a designated oversight entity (and the public) on the consequences of those actions and decisions. As public servants procurement practitioners, and others involved in the public procurement process, are accountable and thus exposed to sanctions as a remedy for any behavior that contravenes the public procurement legal framework and principles.

Competition

The basic idea behind this principle is that competition leads to reasonable price, quality and is good for the economy; consequently, the public procurement process should not be manipulated to give preference to any particular firm(s) or individual(s). And given that public procurement is funded with tax payers’ money, all qualified firms and individuals should be allowed to participate by submitting bids and/or proposals on requirements for which they are qualified. Additionally, public procurement requirements should be widely disseminated to increase the chances of a good market response leading to the award of competitively-priced contracts.

Not all contracts are awarded using a competitive process because this depends on the urgency of need and the resulting procurement method used to fulfill specific requirements. The use of non-competitive procurement methods, although justified under certain circumstance, should be kept to a minimum. Examples of non-competitive procurement methods are: shopping (also called request for quotations or invitation to quote), and direct contracting (single/sole sourcing). Each of these non-competitive procurement methods have their purpose and should not be misused.

Fairness in Public Procurement

There are different interpretations of fairness in public procurement, so rather than define it as treating bidders equally, I’d rather mention how it is to be achieved.

For there to be fairness in the public procurement process:

1. Decision–making and actions should be unbiased and there should be no preferential treatment (to individuals or firms) given that public procurement activities are undertaken with public funds.

2. All bids should be considered on the basis of their compliance with the terms of the solicitation documents, and a bid should not be rejected for reasons other than those specifically stipulated in the solicitation document.

3. A contract should only be signed with the bidder whose bid is compliant and responds best to the objectives of the requirement in terms of technical capability and price.

4. Bidders should have the right to challenge the bidding process whenever they feel that they were unfairly treated. Such challenges must be based on the solicitation document and/or the procurement legal framework.

Openness

The principle of openness should prevail in public procurement. This means that, given the use of public funds, public procurement opportunities should be open to all qualified firms and individuals, and the public should have access to information pertaining to public procurement.

In spite of the above, access to public procurement information is not absolute. Confidential and proprietary information of firms and individuals participating in the public procurement process is not readily available to the public.

There are also procurement methods, such as restricted/selective bidding, that limit the availability of the solicitation document to firms meeting certain qualifications. The request for quotations (or shopping) and direct contracting (sole source) also present certain limitations on competition.

The bid/proposal evaluation process is always kept confidential until the evaluation panel reaches a final conclusion, and the evaluation report is cleared by the approving authority.

Some defense procurements are confidential, limiting relevant information only to those with a “need to know”.

Except for confidential defense procurements; however, the results of the public procurement process should be publicized and made available on relevant websites. In addition, public procurement information (except for confidential/proprietary information) should be open and accessible to all.

Economy

Known by other terms such as: efficiency, value for money, commercially reasonable price, etc., this principle places emphasis on the need to manage public funds responsibly such that prices paid for goods and services are reasonable and represent good value (in terms of quality) for the amount of public funds expended on them. Everyone involved in the public procurement process or directly responsible for facilitating the acquisition of goods and services with public funds, should avoid fraud, waste and abuse of public resources, whether it be through inflated specifications, paying unreasonably high prices for substandard goods, collusion with bidders, or other irregular and unethical practices.

Integrity in Public Procurement

In public procurement, the principle of integrity is two-fold. There is the integrity of the procurement process, and also the integrity of public procurement practitioners (the principal guardians of the process).

Integrity translates to reliability. Bidders and all other stakeholders need to have assurance that they can rely on any information disseminated by the procurement entity, formally or informally. The integrity of the procurement process assures confidence in the public procurement process. When solicitation documents are issued by the procurement entity, the information provided should be reliable and free of uncertainty or predisposition.

When reviewing solicitation documents, prospective bidders should be able to determine their interest and qualifications for the assignment. They also must be in a position to assess the need for association with other bidders, and the type of association that they would be willing to engage in given their qualifications and the requirements of the assignment in question.

Bidders should also have a clear understanding of the requirement, and know how they will be evaluated. So the evaluation and selection criteria should be clearly expressed in the solicitation document. These criteria should remain unchanged, unless there is a need to modify them. If modification is required, the solicitation document should be amended (by addendum), published and made available to all prospective bidders. Any changes in the bid/proposal submission date, should allow bidders sufficient time to adjust their bids/proposals accordingly to meet the new deadline for submission of bids/proposals.

Integrity of Public Procurement Practitioners

Practitioners working for the various procurement entities, and other government officials involved in the public procurement process, must strive for internal (personal) and external integrity (ideally there shouldn’t be any contradiction between the two). Public procurement practitioners should be perceived, at all times, as honest, trustworthy, responsible and reliable. They must always have the “big picture” (purpose of the procurement requirement) in mind and their philosophy must be that of public servants, in the true sense of the word. Public procurement practitioners must ensure that they responsibly manage the public procurement process within the mandate of the public procurement legal framework and in line with public procurement principles.

Transparency

Transparency in public procurement means that information on the public procurement process must be available to everyone: contractors, suppliers, service providers and the public at large, unless there are valid and legal reasons to keep certain information confidential. Examples of confidential information are proprietary information of companies or individuals participating in the solicitation process, and certain military/defense procurements.

When a public procurement requirement is published or made available to the market by any means (electronically, press, internet portal, etc.), the announcement must contain sufficient details for interested contractors, suppliers and service providers to understand it in order to determine if they are qualified to compete; most especially, the solicitation document must be made widely available at a reasonable cost or even free of charge.

After reading the solicitation document, interested contractors, suppliers and service providers should also be able to determine: the nature of the requirement and its scope; closing date for submission of bids, proposals or information; evaluation and selection criteria; details on how and where bids/proposals should be submitted; number of copies, point of contact for additional information and response to queries (clarifications); deadline for submission of queries; schedule of pre-bid/proposal meeting and site visits, and any other pertinent details. Additionally, if there is a change to the solicitation document, all stakeholders should be notified through the same publications used for the initial notification, so that they can take the necessary actions to comply as a result of the change.