Mozambique: CIP criticises government approach to public procurement – AIM report

The prominent Mozambican anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), has warned that the creation of a Central State Procurement Authority, which President Daniel Chapo has defended, could be risky as it would “concentrate decision-making power, becoming a super-gatekeeper of public procurement.” Chapo had explained in his inaugural speech that the Central State Procurement Authority would be responsible for planning, coordinating, supervising and monitoring procurement processes, in order to ensure that public funds are invested fairly and efficiently. “Public procurement, which represents one of the largest shares of public expenditure, is never just a technical exercise in acquiring goods and services, but also a space for economic competition, redistribution of opportunities and, in contexts of resource scarcity, reconfiguration of power”, reads the CIP document.

The organization believes that without a clearly defined governance model, robust accountability mechanisms, and public access to open data, the Central State Procurement Authority “could become a super-gatekeeper of public procurement.” According to the organization, in order to improve the monitoring of public procurement, the government should issue in real-time disclosure notices; evaluation criteria; award reports; signed contracts and addenda; as well as financial and physical execution of contracts. “This could be an autonomous management model, with its own statute and clear legal mandate to avoid direct subordination to a single political center and centralization of procurement”, reads the document.