By: Mohamed Sahr
National Public Procurement Authority with support from World Bank, Government of Sierra Leone and Africa Development Bank launched the Methodology for Assessing Procurement System (MAPS) with a theme “Building Stronger Procurement System for Sustainable Development.” The platform is aimed to enhancing government’s commitment to building a procurement system with a focus on transparency and international best practices on Thursday 5 December, 2024 at the Sierra Palm Hotel, Aberdeen, Freetown.
Madam Kadiatu Allie, Deputy Minister of Finance 1 said the initiative represents significant step towards building a procurement system that is transparent, efficient, and globally aligned.
She acknowledged the leadership and vision of President Julius Maada Bio whose transformative agenda has guided their national development efforts, adding that the president in his “Big Five Game Changer” Initiatives have laid the foundation for the launching of the MAPS initiative, which remains critical to the success of the go system.
Madam Allie commended the World Bank, African Development Bank, and the National Public Procurement Authority for their invaluable support and collaboration in making this moment possible.
She further that this is the government’s commitment to reform the country through the Big Five Game Changers, adding that since 2018, President Bio’s top flight ideas have driven systemic reforms across the country like focusing on education, human capital development, economic diversification, infrastructure, and governance.
She said the Free Quality Education ensures transparency procurement processes for educational infrastructure, learning materials, and services, adding that they are reinforcing the President’s flagship initiative which seeks to empower every Sierra Leonean child with quality education.
Madam Allie also stated that human capital development is also a robust procurement system and this will support investments in healthcare, skills training, social protection, enhancing the well-being and productivity of our citizens.
She continued that economic diversification is also important by streamlining procurement for key sectors like agriculture, fisheries and tourism, adding that this create opportunities for local businesses, attract investments and drive sustainable economic growth.
She said in governance and accountability through initiatives like MAPS, they are
strengthening the very systems that underpin good governance, ensuring that public funds are utilized efficiently and for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans, adding that these initiatives, underpinned by the government’s steadfast commitment to reform, provide the strategic framework within which they can address corruption, inefficiency and inequity in public sector procurement.
Minister Kadiatu also stated that the role of MAPS in enhancing procurement systems is a powerful tool for achieving the goals again of the Five Game Changer Initiatives by evaluating the performance of the country procurement systems.
She said MAPS would enable the country to identify and address systemic weaknesses thorough diagnostic of our procurement processes and this will highlight inefficiencies and gaps that need urgent attention.
She further that in align with Global Standards, MAPS allows them to benchmark the procurement practices against international best practices, ensuring credibility and competitiveness on the global stage.
Madam Allie emphasized that the system promotes transparency and accountability, adding that transparent procurement is critical for minimizing corruption and ensuring equitable access to opportunities for all stakeholders and also in Support Economic Growth it improves efficiency and reducing costs.
The Minister furthered that MAPS would enhance the government’s ability to deliver services and infrastructure that drive economic growth and it’s foster trust in Governance, adding that Citizens and development partners will have greater confidence in a procurement system that is fair, accountable, and aligned with international norms.
She added to in procurement reform a catalyst for National Development Reforming procurement systems is not an isolated activity, it is integral to our broader national development agenda, transparent and efficient procurement processes.
Minister Kadiatu in her key note address said in Strengthen Public Service Delivery they ensure that essential services like education, healthcare and infrastructure are delivered efficiently and effectively.
She said in terms of building Investor Confidence is a fair and open procurement system that attracts domestic and international investors, creating jobs and fostering innovation and to enhance social equity is by reducing corruption and inefficiency,
procurement reform ensures that resources are distributed equitably benefiting all citizens, particularly marginalized communities.
Madam Allie mentioned that the government remains committed to supporting MAPS; stating that they would continue to provide the necessary resources, institutional backing, and political will to ensure its success. “Together, we can create a procurement system that inspires trust, delivers value for money, and drives sustainable development for all Sierra Leonean, ” she said.
Lina Tutunji, Senior Procurement Specialist at the World Bank, said public procurement is a strategic function of government, and it plays a significant role in the economy.
Madam Tutunji added that this is central to promoting effective governance and improving public service delivery, adding that Procurement opportunities offered by the Government are an important source of business for the private sector, which, in turn, is an important source of jobs for citizens.
She said creating accountable and transparent public procurement systems ensures the scarce use of public money efficiently to achieve best value for money.
She furthered that this also improves doing business environment for the private sector and enhances citizens’ confidence in the public sector. This, in turn, she said will encourage greater private sector investment and job creation.
Madam Tutunji said the Government of Sierra Leone has Public Procurement Policies and Procedures in place since the year 2004 when the first Public Procurement Policies were enacted as well as establishment of the National Public Procurement Authority a regulatory body with a mandate for procurement regulation, system development, oversight and capacity building.
She said considerable amount of work went into developing standard by tendering documents, training of public officials and private sector actors as well as oversight of procurement and contract implementations.
Madam Tutunji acknowledged the importance of procurement system across the world. Stating that the World Bank would continue to support procurement reforms and modernization efforts for several years through financing and technical assistance.
She said recently the accomplishments supported by the World Bank, include development of e-Procurement Business, Process Reengineering, implementation strategy, policy framework and tender document.
Emphasizing that the contract focuses on the establishment of e-procurement and has been signed and its development has been launched. She furthered that this reform will improve on transparency, integrity efficiency and value for money in procurement process.
Madam Tutunji added that the World Bank and African Development Bank in collaboration with MoF and NPPA are jointly supporting the assessment of the public procurement system using MAPS. She said the assessment provides an excellent opportunity for the government alongside key stakeholders to take stock of the improvements accomplished to date, identify possible and significant gaps that have an adverse impact on the quality and performance of the public procurement system, including on the ability of the system to support and promote the country’s socio-economic, environmental and other development policies that provide recommendations for improvements and support the preparation of an action plan for further enhancements, aligned with the Government’s vision and objectives.
She said to maximize the benefits from this exercise, it is important to ensure collaboration by various stakeholders and provide access to necessary data including data on budgets, procurement, contracts and payments.
During the launching ceremony, Sylvester B. Allieu, Deputy Director, Administration and Human Resources in his statements, welcome different stakeholders to the official launch of the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS).
He said It is a privilege and an honer to serve as the moderator for that landmark event, adding that it is an event that marks a significant step forward in Sierra Leone’s pursuit of transparency, accountability and efficiency in public procurement.
Mr. Allieu further that the event is historic, as it is the first time Sierra Leone is undertaking a comprehensive MAPS assessment.
MAPS he further that is an internationally recognized framework designed to evaluate and strengthen public procurement systems, adding that it provides a clear roadmap for identifying inefficiencies, aligning practices with global standards and ensuring value for money in the use of public resources.
He said the MAPS study is built around four critical pillars which are Legal, Regulatory, and Policy Framework and this examines the foundation of our procurement laws and regulations.