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Foreign Aid Procurement Policies of Development Partners in Africa: The Case of Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2017

Fred Borson
Fred Borson*
Affiliation:
Independent researcher
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

Major development projects in many African countries are often financed by development partners through development aid procurement. Development partners implement specific procurement policies aimed at promoting development in countries receiving aid. This article examines the policies of development partners applicable to aid funded procurement. It argues that some development partner policies could limit the policy space available to implement prioritized development goals domestically.

Keywords

Public procurementdonorsforeign aidAfricaGhanadevelopment aiddevelopment policyanti-corruptionWorld Bankdevelopment partners
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of African Law , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , October 2017 , pp. 373 - 391
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Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2017 

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Footnotes

*

Independent researcher in public procurement, particularly development aid procurement.

References

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2 See: <http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6043> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

3 W Odhiambo and P Kamau “Public procurement: Lessons from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda” (2003, OECD working paper no 208) at 10.

4 World Bank Ghana 2007 External Review on Public Financial Management, vol 2 (2008, public procurement assessment report) at 2Google Scholar.

5 Bräutigam and Knack “Foreign aid, institutions”, above at note 1 at 255.

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13 Basheka “Public procurement reforms”, above at note 6 at 143.

14 Arrowsmith and Quinot Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, part 1 (Country studies).

15 Ibid.

16 E Caborn and S Arrowsmith “Procurement methods in the public procurement systems of Africa” in Arrowsmith and Quinot (eds) Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, 261; G Quinot “A comparative perspective on supplier remedies in African public procurement systems” in Arrowsmith and Quinot, id, 308.

17 Ibid.

18 de Mariz, CL, Ménard, C and Abeillé, B Public Procurement Reforms in Africa: Challenges in Institutions and Governance (2014, Oxford University Press), chap 6CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Williams-Elegbe, S “Beyond UNCITRAL: The challenges of procurement reform implementation in Africa” (2014) 1 Stellenbosch Law Review 1 Google Scholar.

19 Ibid. Doig, A, Watt, D and Williams, R “Why do developing country anti-corruption commissions fail to deal with corruption? Understanding the three dilemmas of organisational development, performance expectation, and donor and government cycles” (2007) 27 Public Administration and Development 251 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

20 Liberia, Public Procurement and Concessions Act (2005), sec 1(5); Nigeria, The Public Procurement Act (2007), sec 15(2); Tanzania, The Public Procurement Act (2011), sec 2(2); Zambia, The Public Procurement Act (2008), sec 3(2).

21 Borson “EU procurement policy”, above at note 10; id “The nature of multiple procurement rules and the policy issues arising from multiplicity of rules: A case study of Ghana” (unpublished MPhil thesis, 2016, University of Nottingham).

22 UNCITRAL “Guide to enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services” (1994) part I, section K.

23 World Bank “Strengthening governance: Tackling corruption, The World Bank Group's updated strategy and implementation plan” (March 2012).

24 S Williams-Elegbe “A perspective on corruption and public procurement in Africa” in Arrowsmith and Quinot (eds) Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, 348.

25 Ibid.

26 Trepte, P “Procurement regulation and emerging economies: The examples of Laos and Bhutan” in Arrowsmith, S and Davies, A (eds) Public Procurement: Global Revolution (1998, Kluwer Law International) chap 6 at 111Google Scholar; World Bank “An independent review of World Bank support to capacity building in Africa: The case of Ghana” (2005); Wittig, WA and Jeng, H Challenges in Public Procurement: Comparative Views of Public Procurement Reform in Gambia (2005, PrAcademics Press) at 24Google Scholar.

27 Ibid. Trepte, P “Building sustainable capacity in public procurement” in Arrowsmith, S and Anderson, R (eds) The WTO Regime on Government Procurement: Challenge and Reform (2011, Cambridge University Press) 377 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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29 See “EU aid explorer 2015”, available at: <https://euaidexplorer.ec.europa.eu/AidOverview.do> (last accessed 15 July 2017).

30 Koeberle, S, Stavreski, Z and Walliser, J (ed) Budget Support as More Effective Aid? Recent Experiences and Emerging Lessons (2006, World Bank Publications)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

31 Ibid.

32 Ibid.

33 Ibid. Jain, S “Project assistance versus budget support: An incentive-theoretic analysis of aid conditionality” (2007) 143/4 Review of World Economics 694 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

34 “Ghana, national anti-corruption action plan 2012–2021” (2011) at 49.

35 Jain “Project assistance”, above at note 33.

36 Ibid.

37 F Borson “Implications of multiple procurement regimes: A case study of Ghana and the specific issue of correction of errors in tenders” (6th public procurement research students conference, University of Nottingham, 29 April 2014) at 28, available at: <http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pprg/documentsarchive/phdconference2014/borson.pdf> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

38 This information was extracted from the OECD interactive statistics page, available at: <http://stats.oecd.org> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

39 Further information on the World Bank's procurement guidelines is available at: <http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/PROCUREMENT/0,contentMDK:50002392~menuPK:93977~pagePK:84269~piPK:60001558~theSitePK:84266,00.html> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

40 Further information on the EU External Actions procurement guidelines is available on-line. See European Commission International Cooperation and Development “Procedures and practical guide” at: <https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/about-funding-and-procedures/procedures-and-practical-guide-prag_en> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

41 Further information is available on-line. See USAID “Operational policy” at: <http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

42 Millennium Challenge Corporation “MCC program procurement guidelines”, available at: <https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/program-procurement-guidelines> (last accessed 10 July 2017); African Development Bank's procurement policies and procedures are available at: <http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/procurement/resources-for-borrowers/policies-procedures/> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

43 European Commission “Procedures and practical guide”, above at note 40.

44 Ghana, Public Procurement (Amendment) Act (2016), art 14(1)(d).

45 Id, art 96.

46 The Gambia, Public Procurement Authority Act (2014), sec 20(4); Tanzania, Public Procurement (Amendment) Act (2016), sec 4; Uganda, Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Amendment) Act (2014), sec 3.

47 A La Chimia “Donors’ influence on developing countries’ procurement systems, rules and markets: A critical analysis” in Arrowsmith and Quinot (eds) Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, 219 at 250.

48 Liberia, Public Procurement and Concessions Act (2005), sec 3(a); Tanzania, The Public Procurement Act (2016), sec 4.

49 2011 Model Law, art 3.

50 S Arrowsmith and E Carborn “Procurement methods in the public procurement systems of Africa” in Arrowsmith and Quinot (eds) Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, 292.

51 World Bank Ghana: 2007 External Review of Public Financial Management (2008, Public Procurement Assessment Report).

52 See Millennium Challenge Corporation “MCC, World Bank, MiDA sign memorandum to strengthen procurement practices” (30 May 2013), available at: <https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-events/release/pressrelease-0530-13mcc-world-bank-mida> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

53 La Chimia “Donor's influence”, above at note 47. Also, many other themes discussed in Arrowsmith and Quinot's book Public Procurement Regulation, above at note 7, including the introductory chapter and study on specific countries, highlight the existence of multiple regimes in Africa. OECD-DAC “The Mali donor's public procurement”, above at note 28.

54 Borson “Implications of multiple procurement regimes”, above at note 37.

55 Ibid. La Chimia, A Tied Aid and Development Aid Procurement in the Framework of EU and WTO Law (2013, Hart Publishing) at 182Google Scholar.

56 Ibid.

57 Ellmers, B Tapping the Potential? Procurement, Tied Aid and the Use of Country Systems in Uganda (2010, Eurodad) at 5Google Scholar.

58 This information was extracted from the interactive infographics page of “EU aid explorer”, available at: <https://euaidexplorer.ec.europa.eu/DevelopmentAtlas.do> (last accessed 10 July 2017).

59 Knack and Rahman “Donor fragmentation”, above at note 28.

60 Doig et al Measuring “Success”, above at note 28 at 60.

61 Ibid.

62 EU External Actions “Practical guide”, above at note 40, sec 2.2.

63 C Dunning “Is local spending better? The controversy over USAID procurement reform” (November 2013, Center for American Progress), available at: <http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ProcurementReform.pdf> (last accessed 10 July 2017). Information obtained by the author from a procurement officer in Ghana who wishes to remain anonymous confirms this position.

64 Zhang, X “Supplier review as a mechanism for securing compliance with government public procurement rules: A critical perspective” (2007) 16/5 Public Procurement Law Review 333 Google Scholar.