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The fight against bribery and corruption ranks high on the reform agenda of Asian and Pacific countries. Public procurement is particularly exposed to corruption risks, given the high value and number of contracts and the broad discretion that is inherent to assessment of needs and priorities, and the quality of products and services.
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Over the past decade, many countries in Asia-Pacific have significantly modernized their regulatory frameworks. They now employ sophisticated frameworks that prescribe complex procedures involving several actors. Procurement reforms have most often decentralized public procurement to local levels. Implementation of the intricate regulations by procuring entities raises significant challenges. Procurement personnel therefore require training, guidance and oversight to carry out their tasks and to resist temptations to accept or solicit bribes.
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Electronic media have the potential to contribute to reducing bribery risks in public procurement: they limit face-to-face contacts between suppliers and procurement personnel, allow the efficient distribution of information to a large number of potential suppliers at low cost, increase transparency of forthcoming and current tender opportunities and collect evidence throughout the process that can help trace bribery. As electronic media become widely available in an increasing number of Asian and Pacific countries, their use in public procurement is rising.
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Criminal law and proportionate and dissuasive penalties are important complements to preventive mechanisms against bribery in public procurement. Enforcement of these laws is key, of course. The absence of clear and comprehensive criminal provisions on bribery and ineffective enforcement allow bribery to flourish.
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Procurement reform has long been perceived as an exercise for governments, not businesses. However, bribery can only occur if there is supply of bribes. Effective measures against bribery therefore need to address both the supply and the demand sides with equal emphasis. Today, many businesses that supply goods and services to governments and bid for public contracts understand their role and responsibility in curbing bribery in public procurement. Ethical management is increasingly seen as an indispensible element of a business policy.
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Governments and administrations set procurement rules, and public officials execute the actual procurement processes. However, civil society can play important roles in the conduct of procurement and in procurement reform. In a rather classic role, civil society actors scrutinize procurement procedures. Procurement is carried out to provide services to citizens, and citizens pay for the goods, works and services procured; they therefore have an obvious role in contributing to needs assessment decisions and in scrutinizing the proceedings that administrations carry out on their behalf. Decentralization of a large share of procurement to local level in many countries in Asia-Pacific increases opportunities for civil society’s involvement in public procurement.
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It is governments’ responsibility to strengthen their countries’ anti-bribery legislation and regulatory frameworks to mitigate bribery risks in public procurement. However, in their overall efforts to curb bribery in public procurement, they can draw on support from development banks, international organizations and regional processes. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region have taken advantage of these actors’ expertise in reforming sectors relevant to the fight against corruption.
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