By Brima Sannoh
There is the firm belief that if this nation is to attain economic prosperity then it is a must for public institutions to adopt, practice and continue to consolidate sound procurement processes.
This belief hinges on the fact that huge chunks of public funds are utilized for procurement purposes in the implementation of development projects and the day-to-day operations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The importance of ensuring positive ways in which procurement processes are conducted could not be overemphasized when cognizance is taken of the fact that for too long one of the key reasons responsible for the backward state in which this country was plunged into is largely attributed to bad procurement practices.
Deliberately, officials within most MDAs awarded contracts to incompetent so-called contractors who ended up doing mediocre construction works, rendered poor services and purchased sub-standard or inferior items with the avowed intention to corruptly enrich themselves through kickbacks, awarding of contracts to institutions they owned or have interest in.
It is no hidden secret that because of poor procurement practices coupled with lack of transparency, fewer hospitals, schools and other infrastructure were built in the past than what were budgeted for. A lot of public funds went down the drain, finding their ways into the pockets of ill-motivated and corrupt public officials.
Some of these public officials still continue to practice such nefarious acts of devising ways to siphon public funds out of selfish motives or personal aggrandizement at the detriment of fast tracking overall national development and leaving the vast majority to continue to wallow in abject poverty.
Putting strict measures in place for public institutions to imbibe sound procurement practices will largely curtail corruption and financially put us as a nation on a sound footing to undertake impressive development programmes.
It is a candid conviction that such will also greatly help in enhancing transparency in public financial management and ensure that we get value for money.
The National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) , the oversight institution charged with the mandate of regulating, monitoring procurement processes and practices plus developing standard policies do have a big role to play in sanitizing public procurement in the country.
It can only be prudent on the part of the NPPA to continue engaging the right officials within MDAS in training sessions on the need to practice good procurement processes and as well highlight the consequences that may befall them if they fall short and are found wanting.
From what have been learnt so far, there are still certain MDAs who continue to give the NPPA tough time by failing to timely submit procurement plans, something which is very much important in helping the oversight institution to effectively perform its monitoring and regulatory functions.
It could be wise that the reneging MDAs should be starved of budgetary allocations by the Ministry of Finance until they are forced to comply. Equally too, the NPPA should develop a data base of contractors in the country as that too will help in knowing those that are competent to deliver and those who cannot.
I reaffirm the strongest conviction that putting in place good performance practices will enhance socio-economic development. All the requisite stakeholders must work assiduously in that direction in order to uplift our nation from the abyss of poverty.
