Public procurement in Mauritius showing progress, but room for improvement – African Development Bank assessment | African Development Bank

Mauritius has made crucial progress in its public procurement system, but additional reforms are needed, according to an assessment report released to the government by the African Development Bank on Tuesday.

Frank Mvula, director of Fiduciary Services and Inspection at the African Development Bank, said the next step after the presentation of the report should be the development of a detailed action plan on how the assessment’s recommendations would be implemented.

Mvula made his statements at a workshop in the country’s capital, Port Louis, on the 14^e of February, where he presented a copy of the report to Mahensingh Bheekhee, Director of the Mauritian Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development.

Members of the review team presented the report’s findings and recommendations to 100 CEOs, directors and other stakeholders from Mauritius.

The African Development Bank led the assessment in collaboration with the Mauritius Procurement Policy Office (PPO) using the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS) framework. MAPS is a universal standard for evaluating strengths and gaps in public procurement systems. The bank also provided a $134,013 technical assistance grant to the government.

In his opening statement, PPO director Hirendranath Rhambojun stressed that Mauritius had started implementing reforms after seeing an early version of the report.

“Each year during the budget speech, we made improvements to the law on public procurement and the procurement rules,” he said. The PPO is part of the Ministry of Finance.

Director Mvula praised the government for taking responsibility for the assessment process.

“The public procurement system in Mauritius is quite robust and this is a result of the reforms they have been implementing over many years,” Mvula said.

He assured the government of the bank’s continued support in addressing the remaining gaps.

One of the key findings of the report is that Mauritius has a well-established public procurement legal and regulatory framework that is comprehensive and accessible.

The country also demonstrates good governance and a strong political commitment to improving its e-procurement system.

Critical shortcomings identified in the review include a provision on compulsory participation of local companies in public procurement, which may restrict foreign bidders.

Also, the process of selecting contractors and awarding contracts can be lengthy.

In comments to close the workshop, Bhagwansingh Dabeesing, a PPO member and part of the review, outlined the next steps.

He said that the government intends to thoroughly review its public procurement laws and regulations to update them and bring them in line with the e-procurement system.

Dabeesing said other plans include implementation of sustainable public procurement. This means that socio-economic and environmental considerations are taken into account in the public procurement process. The OM plans to submit an action plan to the national cabinet for approval soon, Dabeesing said.

The African Development Bank is a long-standing funder of the MAPS Secretariat and has participated in several assessments.

Click here for more information about MAPS