BUDESHI PROGRAM DIRECTOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (PPDC) Government and Civil Society collaboration towards Open Contracting in Nigeria GIFT OMOIDEDIA BUDESHI PROGRAM DIRECTOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (PPDC)

Introduction The status of Open Contracting in Nigeria PPDC’s contributions and challenges to implementation of Open Contracting in Nigeria and at least one major transformative milestone so far Lessons from Nigeria and proposals on strengthening application of Open Contracting principles in East Africa

About PPDC is a citizens sector organization that seeks to promote increased citizens participation in governance in a way that supports improved integrity in public sector governance through monitoring and reporting on public finance expenditure (to prevent corruption). Procurement Monitoring: Supporting citizens to participate in the procurement process through sector specific Procurement Monitoring.

Why procurement matters: The primary purpose of government in meeting the welfare and security needs of people is achieved through the Public Procurement Process. A good size of National Budget expenditure is incurred through the Public Procurement Process The State of National Infrastructure and standards of living are largely dependent on procurement Effectiveness

Public Procurement Monitoring Prior To Open Contracting Gross misappropriation of funds Data Incoherency Inefficiency in the procurement system Opacity No citizens participation

Objectives of the Public Procurement Reforms Ensuring accountability in the Public Procurement Process Attainment of Probity and transparency in the Procurement Process Encouraging competitiveness in the Public Sector Procurement System Entrenching Value for money standards and Practices Professionalizing Procurement Practice

Inclusion of Sect (19b) in the Public Procurement Act 2007 Subject to Regulations as may from time to time be made by the Bureau, under direction of the council, a procuring entity shall, in implementing its procurement plans: A. Advertise and solicit for bids……….. B. To invite two credible persons as observers in every procurement process one person each representing a recognized i. Private sector professional…….. ii. Non Governmental Organisation working in transparency, accountability and anti- corruption areas, and the observers shall not intervene in the procurement process but shall have the right to submit their observation report to any relevant agency or body including their own organizations or associations.

Our Budeshi Journey: Advocacy And Adoption www.budeshi.ng

BUDESHI – Making data make sense Budeshi (which is Hausa for "Open it") is a dedicated site that links budget and procurement data to various public services. It is accessible to the public to interact with and make their own comparisons.  In a bid to make information around public contracts and the procurement process more coherent, Budeshi is an attempt to demonstrate the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS)  It is imperative that data standards are integrated into the current practice of keeping records around public resource utilization and that, at each stage, the records can be linked to other stages and ultimately, to the resulting public infrastructure/service. The OCDS has mapped all stages in the contracting process from conception to project delivery and created uniform standards that enable links to be drawn.

Why OCDS ? Value For Money Detecting Fraud And Corruption Competing For Contracts Monitoring Service Delivery

…Opening up the space

Impact of Budeshi.ng on public procurement processes Timely Disclosure of information Pushing for better sectorial reforms A watch-dog system Heightened Civic Engagement Improved public resource management Aiding accurate policy decision making Integrate Data Standards into current method of record keeping

Challenges and Successes Coordination and integration amongst stakeholders Resistance (Fear of the Unknown) Successful Advocacy-The Federal government’s commitment to adopt the OCDS BPP taking the lead on OC and the development of the NOCOPO Achieving our ultimate goal- An efficient open contracting platform driven by the Government Aiding Greater Sector Reforms within Nigeria

Scaling open contracting to States Current Steps…. Scaling open contracting to States

In closing… Calling on all member states to: Strive to adopt regulations that supports proactive disclosure, improved data collection and enhanced efficiency in the procurement process. Adopt and implement the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) e-procurement system should make use of the OCDS, including unique identifiers for key processes and entities. Inclusion of CSO’s in the procurement process: it is in the best interest of government that citizens are able to verify its performance. Strenghten high-level support for open contracting: Government stakeholders will need a mechanism to enable coordination of various reform efforts related to public procurement.

www.procurementmonitor.org | www.budeshi.ng Email: ppdc@procurementmonitor.org | Twitter: ppmonitorNG