EFSCRJ Concerned with Decision to Grant Procurement Exemption to Public Bodies

The Edward Francis Small Centre for Right and Justice is deeply concerned about the decision of the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) and approved by the National Assembly on 1^st November 2024 to grant nine public institutions to do their procurement without seeking approval from GPPA. These nine institutions are, 

1. Ministry of Interior, 
2. Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, 
3. Office of the Ombudsman, 
4. Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, 
5. Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, 
6. Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, 
7. Central Bank of the Gambia, 
8. Independent Electoral Commission and 
9. Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute.

We note that the GPPA is relying on Section 12(4) to (7) of the GPPA Act to grant these exemptions. The Act states in Section 12(4) that a procuring organization shall undergo a capacity assessment successfully before it is authorized to procure without seeking GPPA approval. The exemptions last for two years under Subsection 5 which can be extended for another two years under Subsection 6. These sections were first inserted in the GPPA Act in 2014, and then maintained in the 2022 amendments as part of the functions of GPPA. The original GPPA Act 2001 did not have these provisions.  

We find these provisions to be highly prone to abuse and encourage bribery. Secondly these provisions also fall short of the principles and standards of procurement as they lower the checks and balances to prevent corruption. Experts on procurement have noted that one of the most corruption-prone government activities is public procurement. This is simply because public procurement involves huge volumes of transactions with financial interests at stake, which involves close interaction between public officials and businesses, and a host of other stakeholders.

This is why procurement and anti-corruption experts have noted that in most countries, the abuse of government-spending processes has become the gateway to self-enrichment. The Gambia is one example of such self-enrichment through procurement. The evidence of this could be found in the series of audits of public institutions by the National Audit Office, with the latest being the special audit of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Yet IEC is one of the institutions to be exempted from seeking prior GPPA approval.

In light of the foregoing, EF Small Centre, as a transparency and accountability organization, rejects both the decision of GPPA and the approval by the National Assembly to grant these nine institutions exemption from seeking prior approval. In this regard we hereby demand the following:

1.         GPPA should disclose the full reports of the capacity assessments conducted for each of these institutions in line with Section 7 of the Access to Information Act which requires proactive disclosure of such reports by public bodies. The fact that NAO could expose massive procurement malpractices in the IEC raises the question as to the quality of capacity assessment conducted by GPPA on the IEC such that it gives the Commission approval to procure without seeking approval.

2.         We urge the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs to cause the review and amendment of the GPPA Act to remove the entire Sections 12(4) to (7) to ensure that there is no room for exemptions hence no room for bribery and corruption. We urge that the GPPA Act reflect the 2001 legislation which does not provide such functions to GPPA to allow procuring organizations to procure without seeking approval.  

3.         The authority to conduct procurement should be under the control and direction of the GPPA and in line with international principles and standards of procurement.

We note with concern the high incidence of bribery and corruption in Government procurement which has been incontrovertibly evidenced in audit reports, commissions of inquiry, and reports by CSOs and investigative journalists. The GPPA Act, with the presence of Sections 12(4) to (7), effectively legitimize and legalize bribery and corruption which must hugely concern the Government. 

As a transparency and accountability body, EF Small Centre will seek political and legal measures for the amendment of the GPPA Act and to stop these exemptions to ensure legal and institutional loopholes are closed to prevent wastage of public funds, bribery and corruption through procurement. 

In the Spirit of Edward Francis Small, For The Gambia, Homeland

……………………………………………..

Madi Jobarteh