Holding government accountable

Ms Jane Nalunga, the country director of Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiation Institute, addresses a press conference in Kampala. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Joseph Bahingwire shares how civil society organisations can work with public procurement entities to monitor the implementation of government contracts.
  • Civil society can influence public procurement through lobbying and influencing policies, monitoring all stages of the procurement process including meetings of award committees and inviting observers to follow procurement processes.
  • In recent years, tendering institutions through formation of Contracts Committees, have developed a raft of anti-corruption initiatives, including those aimed at deterring private companies from engaging in corruption.

Since civil society organisations act as an intermediary between the State and society, they are in position to monitor government’s expenditure which, in turn, holds government accountable.

According to Sylvia Kirabo, the public relation’s officer, PPDA, accountability constitutes a central pillar of any public procurement system. Without transparent and accountable systems enabling governments and citizens to engage in a responsive way, most resources channeled through public procurement systems can increase corruption and misuse of funds.
She says even in a system with low levels of corruption, public and civic oversight can help identify inefficiencies that eventually improve service delivery to citizens.
In line with PPDA guidelines for public procurement, accountability can be about engaging with civil society and other actors through independent review mechanisms, disclosure of information and instating participatory monitoring systems. To ensure accountability, transparency mechanisms such as public oversight and monitoring, are important.
“Civil society can play an important role in raising awareness around public procurement and public financial management. The aim of this is to pressure public officials to use public resources for civic, not private, purposes,” Ms Kirabo says.
Civil society can influence public procurement through lobbying and influencing policies, monitoring all stages of the procurement process including meetings of award committees and inviting observers to follow procurement processes.
Ms Eleanor Baguma, a human rights activist, believes that PPDA should engage the civil society because they can act as whistle blowers in case of project malpractices, reducing corruption.
“We are ready to work with PPDA so that the public gets value for money on every government project,” Ms Baguma says.
Ms Baguma adds that public procurement in Uganda provides the main interface between the public and private sectors and is recognised as a major source of corruption.
The public sector in Uganda is a very important customer to the private business at both national and international levels.
“Corruption in public procurement makes the officials or the politicians in charge purchase goods or services from the best briber, instead of choosing the best price-quality combination,” she says.

Corruption fight

In recent years, tendering institutions through formation of Contracts Committees, have developed a raft of anti-corruption initiatives, including those aimed at deterring private companies from engaging in corruption.