Transparency: A Unicorn in Public Procurement

A blog post by Tiffany Adams 

Increased transparency is often a politician’s major campaign platform, but sometimes one of the first values to be discarded when taking public office. This is particularly apparent in public procurement which is considered to be saddled with corruption (Ameyaw, et al., 2012). While transparency may not have the ability to eliminate all instances of corruption, it is a vital precursor for reducing instances of corruption. It does this by facilitating the monitoring of activities of the government which can deter and expose corrupt practices.

When campaigning for public office, politicians are usually knowledgeable of how to promote transparency and promise its observation when elected. However, this competency regarding the observation of transparency is frequently reduced to ineptitude when elected. This metamorphosis may suggest that transparency is akin to a mythical creature like a unicorn; attainable by the naïve but non-existent to the seasoned. The occurrence of this common but paradoxical phenomenon begs the question: what is transparency in public procurement and if it is important why is it not always observed?

What is transparency in public procurement?

The layperson may assume that transparency means shedding light on the practices of an organisation in order to permit monitoring by stakeholders. However, in the realm of public procurement, transparency requires more than this. It is typically first associated with the publication of public procurement contract opportunities in order to encourage the use of competitive methods, such as open tendering, that reduce the likelihood of corruption and increase the probability of the attainment of value for money (Yukins, 2010). In Caribbean countries like Jamaica, this is done primarily through the print media and is supplemented by electronic sources like the Government of Jamaica Electronic Procurement (GOJEP) website.

Yet, public procurement transparency also encompasses the publication of rules and assessment criteria governing public procurement contract opportunities (Arrowsmith, 2021). This is aimed at ensuring that stakeholders are aware of their rights and responsibilities when engaging in public procurement as well as removing the ambiguities surrounding evaluation and contract awards. The Jamaican public procurement process facilitates this through the publication of information on the GOJEP website and other sources like Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance and the Public Service website.

Public procurement transparency also requires compliance with rules to limit discretion exercised by officials in decision-making. This is necessary given that excessive discretion may motivate individuals involved in the process to pursue their own self-interest (Arrowsmith, 2021). The final facet of public procurement transparency entails the provision of evidence of compliance with relevant rules via the publication of information regarding the various stages of the procurement process and enforcement which addresses conflict of interest issues that may cause officials to act in their own self-interest (Arrowsmith, 2021).  Rule-based decision-making is the aspect of transparency that is often flouted in Jamaica and is well-documented through reports of the Auditor General and Integrity Commission. Despite recommendations offered in these reports, procuring entities often repeat these infractions.

Consequently, the elements of transparency are necessary for altruistic outcomes that benefit all stakeholders. It is through transparency’s ability to enable scrutiny, share knowledge and promote compliance with rules that makes it an important antecedent to efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement.

Is transparency in public procurement desirable?

The benefits of transparency are undeniable despite the hesitancy surrounding its implementation by some. This reluctance is not rooted in the competence of stakeholders but instead in their personal motivations since with the right incentive, most persons can be motivated to act in their own self-interest and pursue unethical objectives that hinder the attainment of transparency.

That said, although major actors in the public procurement process, like bidders and public officials, may have unethical objectives this does not negate the fact that external beneficiaries of the process will naturally desire value for money when their tax dollars are expended. Thus, although most persons can be persuaded to pursue unethical objectives, not all stakeholders in public procurement can be adequately motivated to desire unethical outcomes. Therefore, the difficult task is how can transparency be achieved in this environment of conflicting desires?

Is transparency achievable in public procurement?

Having established that transparency is generally desirable by taxpayers that are responsible for the composition of governments through their voting power, it can be said that some politicians are interested in pursuing transparency if they are not alternatively incentivised. The UK government has adopted some practices that may be useful to other developing countries. However, this may be stymied by the principal-agent relationship that exists between politicians in the form of government Ministers and public servants that are entrusted to execute their mandate.

To ensure that transparency is observed in public procurement, it has been the norm to utilise legislation and guidance. While these are important tools, the creation of such tools must be underpinned by mechanisms for monitoring and sanctioning in practice.

Monitoring may be conducted by both public procurement officials and bidders with the former requiring an adequate level of training. However, it must be acknowledged that the training of public procurement professionals may not remove their desire to pursue objectives that are in their own self-interest, contrary to the ideals of transparency. In addition, monitoring conducted by bidders may be hampered by the fear of retribution for speaking out and by a bidder’s desire to benefit from asymmetries of information that a lack of transparency may cultivate.

The use of sanctions to support monitoring in the pursuit of transparency is beneficial although its usefulness is dependent on legislative provisions determining its application. Provisions that allow for negligible punishment and only discretionary application may not be a deterrent to non-transparent behaviour. Regardless of the fallibility of the mechanisms that support transparency its successful observation is possible with a disciplined political culture that holds transparency and its benefits as supreme. However, widely sustained ethical practices are rare in the public sector in developing countries like Jamaica hence, the wide observation of public procurement transparency may be considered mythical, like a unicorn.

References

Ameyaw, C., Mensah, S. & Osei-Tutu, E., 2012. Improving Transparency in Public Procurement in Ghana. Seattle, Fifth International Public Procurement Conference.

Arrowsmith, S., 2021. The Approach to Emergency Procurement in the UNCITRAL Model Law: A Critical Appraisal in Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic. In: S. Arrowsmith, L. Butler, A. La Chima & C. Yukins, eds. Public Procurement Regulation in (a) Crisis? Global Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic. Oxford: Hart, pp. 38-77.

Yukins, C., 2010. A Versatile Prism: Assessing Procurement Law Through the Principal-Agent Model. Public Contract Law Journal, 40(1), pp. 63-86.

.

Tiffany Adams

Tiffany holds a Master of Laws (Distinction) in Public Procurement Law and Strategy from Bangor University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Distinction) in Economics from the University of Guyana. She also has certifications in Project Management and CIPS. Prior to commencing her postgraduate research at The Open University, Tiffany worked as a Public Procurement Practitioner in the public sector where she has amassed experience in all stages of the public procurement process and in the creation of public procurement policy. Her research interests encompass emergency public procurement, efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement, sustainable public procurement, and the development of public procurement in CARICOM.