Public  procurement is often seen as a back office role within the public sector. Following recent public financial management reforms among governments in Africa, it has now become one of the most bureaucratic processes in the public sector. It can be a high pressure and complex role for the officials co-ordinating public procurement and a painful process for the bidders who participate.

Future-focused public sector organisations know that delivering value and impact through public procurement requires not just elaborate procurement procedures and laws but quality staff to coordinate these procurement processes. Quality is measurable in terms of skills and experience and also relevant qualifications and personal integrity.

Having unqualified staff with low integrity is tantamount to inputting poor quality data into sophisticated computer software for data analysis and expecting results; as local speak, garbage in, garbage out.

The truth is that no public sector agency, whether future-focused or otherwise, can function without procurement. For example, it is estimated that over 60 per cent of a government’s budget is utilised through public procurement which explains why managing procurement is a fundamental component of ensuring efficient, economic and effective use of resources.  In most cases, public procurement accounts for 10 -16 per cent of the GDP of any country which makes procurement a key policy instrument.

Public procurement is also the area that is most vulnerable to waste, fraud and corruption due to its complexity, the size of the financial flows it generates and the close interaction between the public and the private sectors. Hence, we cannot discuss good governance without focusing on public procurement.

Significant efforts have been made to develop comprehensiveprocurement laws and regulations for governments in Africa and to align them with best practices. Governments are now shifting towards computerising procurement processes through e-procurement.

However, despite these remarkable achievements in public procurement, the ‘people’ element is lacking.

Future-focused public sector organisations know that they must prioritise the calibre of staff assigned to procurement in terms of qualifications and skills as well as personal integrity. However, public procurement officers in most institutions are seen as playing a ‘back office’ role and a major hurdle to the efficient implementation of operations due to lengthy, time consuming procedures  that require a full moon cycle before a tender can be concluded.

The delays and bureaucracies created by the lengthy procedures are not much encouragement in terms of stakeholders complying with public procurement procedures. Nonetheless, these procedures are put in place to enhance transparency and fairness in the procurement process but it is important to strike a balance between efficiency and lengthy bureaucratic procedures.

Despite the lengthy procedures, one would wonder why there is massive corruption in public procurement. It is because we have not dealt with the quality of people handling public procurement.

Recruitment of procurement officers is done using a "simplistic and general” approach that does not focus on relevant qualifications, personal integrity and past performance.

This has seen public procurement been coordinated by staff with general qualifications and others with "vested interests”. This is why we find ourselves in this current situation of high levels of corruption in public procurement.

The time has come to build sustainable capacity in public procurement. In the past, this might have meant rolling out a series of short uncoordinated trainings that mainly benefit the providers of the conference facilities.

Future-focused public sector organisations build capacity in their procurement functions by committing to a coordinated, long term and systematic capacity building programmethat will result in relevant qualifications and skills.

Future-focused public sector organisations ensure that procurement officers obtain the qualifications that they need. Few universities in Africa have tailor-made courses in procurement.

Governments must work with institutions of higher learning to develop both undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in public procurement, and professional qualifications in public procurement through recognised certificate courses. This model has worked well in Rwanda.

However, professional qualifications are not a guarantee that a practitioner will conduct themselves ethically. Hence, the next step should be to put in place a professional body for procurement to ensure proper regulation and promotion of the practice. This will ensure public procurement is well monitored and sanctions taken against officers who contravene ethical or professional standards.

Though public procurement plays a significant role, it has not always been accorded the attention it deserves.

If we take steps to "professionalise” public procurement, half the journey towards good governance will have been won and we will see many public sector organisations move from the ‘law of the jungle’ in public procurement to the ‘law of an orderly and well regulated profession.’

The writer is a director at PwC Rwanda’s Government and Public Services department.

florence.gatome@pwc.com