Meeting the challenge of efficient public procurement: an assessment of the procurement system in Benin

The effectiveness of any system without an evaluation mechanism will decrease. Between 2014 and August 2021, Benin did not carry out any assessment of its public procurement system, which limited the capacity of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Autorité de régulation des marchés publics, ARMP) to define appropriate strategic orientations to strengthen the performance of the sector. To address this shortcoming, the Government of Benin, with the support of the World Bank, launched in August 2021 an in-depth analysis of the public procurement system, based on compliance reviews, interviews, surveys, and the organization of validation workshops, in accordance with the MAPS-II methodology. This approach allows Benin to improve its system and increase the efficiency of public procurement. The report resulting from this assessment, available on the official website of the MAPS Secretariat, enabled the ARMP to develop a strategic plan for the period 2024-2028.

For system performance

The strategic plan's orientations are as follows:

• Improve the legal and institutional framework for public procurement, through the revision of texts and capacity building of stakeholders, as well as free and open access to information.
• Increase system efficiency through professionalization, alignment of objectives of public procurement plans with budgets, support to the domestic private sector, and improved data management.
• Strengthen integrity and transparency through increased CSO involvement, oversight and effective complaints handling in public procurement.

A long-standing partnership

The World Bank has been supporting the assessment of Benin's procurement system for several years. The country carried out an initial external evaluation of this system in 1999, which resulted in recommendations and an action plan in the Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR). A second assessment of the national public procurement system was carried out in 2014 using the OECD/DAC core indicators.

This is currently the third assessment, facilitated by the commitment of the national authorities. The self-assessment was supervised by the Minister of State for the Economy and Finance, under the coordination of a Technical Committee composed of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, the National Directorate of Public Procurement Control, the Court of Auditors, the General Inspectorate of Finance, Civil Society Organizations and the National Council of Employers of Benin. The assessment team included a coordinator, ten experts, including an international consultant.

The priorities identified by the ARMP focus on the consolidation of reforms influencing the performance of the system in terms of respect of deadlines, transparency of procedures, and the production and accessibility of reliable information and data.

The expectations identified are as follows:

• Accelerate the deployment of the e-procurement platform: the feasibility studies were finalized in 2022, and the preliminary drafts of decrees establishing the regulatory framework for e-procurement were developed by an ad hoc committee and are awaiting adoption by the Council of Ministers. The recruitment of a technical assistant in 2023 has been carried out, and the Evolve firm is currently in charge of defining the mapping of current processes and sub-processes ("as is") as well as identifying areas for improvement.
• Digitize the complaint management process.
• Strengthening oversight of the system by conducting independent annual audits of public procurement on an ad hoc basis.
• Establish a mechanism guaranteeing production, centralization, and transmission to the regulatory body of the statistics and information necessary for periodic evaluation of the system's performance.
• Follow up on all reform actions recommended by the assessment of the national public procurement system according to the MAPS-II methodology.

Like many ongoing reforms in Benin, these initiatives aim to build a robust and reliable public procurement system. This process is also a strong indicator for stimulating investment and creating the conditions for inclusive, strong, and resilient growth.