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Independent Development Evaluation
African Development Bank
The full report is available online at idev.afdb.org
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An online survey and interviews of Bank staff members
and stakeholders, visits to five Regional Member
Countries (RMCs) (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Procurement data came from the Bank’s information
systems, supervision and project completion reports,
Annual Procurement Reports, and related sources.
Information from all these sources was considered to
arrive at ratings1 for each of the pillars on the basis of
key questions posed in the Evaluation Inception Report.
uation in
Methodology
Morocco, and Mozambique) and desk reviews of
procurement policy, strategy and relevant documents
from the Bank and comparator organisations provided
the basis for the evaluation. Information was gathered
and analysed according to five procurement system
pillars: policy, organisation, operations, transparency
and integrity, and capacity building.
Une éval
This evaluation aimed to inform the revision of the
Bank’s operational procurement policy, strategy
and guidelines and to account for the results of its
procurement activities. The evaluation assesses the
efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement policy,
processes and procedures as well as the relevance
and coherence of existing practices along with their
supporting and limiting factors; and draws lessons
and actionable recommendations.
Evaluation Brief
Operational Procurement Policies and Practices of
the African Development Bank:
An Independent Evaluation
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An IDEV Corporate Evaluation
From experience to knowledge... From knowledge to action... From action to impact
Findings
Evaluation pillar
Policy
Challenges
Overall rating
Satisfactory
Organisation
Moderately satisfactory
Operations
Moderately satisfactory
Transparency and Integrity
Moderately satisfactory
Capacity Building
Moderately unsatisfactory
Policy framework
The Bank’s procurement policy provides a solid framework
for fiduciary risk management, meeting development
objectives and protection against fraud and corruption.
The policy has been harmonised with that of other
major development partners. Consistent with the Paris
Declaration Principles, the Bank has laid the groundwork
for the use of country procurement systems (UCPS).
Challenges
❙ ❙ Policy is perceived to be complicated and needs to
be updated to reflect emerging issues such as green
procurement, gender equity and inclusion.
The delegation of Authority Matrix (DAM) needs to be fine-tuned
to clarify the lines of responsibilities and levels of authority to field
offices.
❙❙ Task Managers are not always well-prepared to handle their
procurement responsibilities.
❙❙ Procurement experts spend most of their time ensuring
compliance with rules, leaving little time to focus on upstream and
downstream activities of planning and contract management.
The Bank’s procurement process timelines have significantly
improved over the years, better than in most comparable
institutions. Procurement specialists are now more involved in
procurement planning, an essential foundation for effectiveness.
Challenges
❙❙ As a result of excessive use of International Competitive Bidding
(ICB) even when National Competitive Bidding is appropriate and
low ICB and prior review thresholds, procurement experts spend
most of their time on compliance-related work.
❙❙ Fragile States need more targeted assistance, as they are
vulnerable due to institutional deficiencies.
❙ ❙ Though there are indications that the policy is
achieving value for money, better data and systematic
measurements are required.
❙❙ The procurement information system needs strengthening to
enable monitoring and systematic reporting of results – essential
for meaningful measurement of value for money.
Organisation and capacity
Transparency and Integrity
Decentralisation of procurement specialists to field offices
has improved interaction with procuring entities as well as
their understanding of procedures.
The Bank’s policies about fraud and corruption are fully in line
with best practices. Procurement audits are being given more
attention and can be scaled up.
Challenges
❙❙ Low reporting of procurement infractions, which is not
consistent with the governance situation in RMCs.
❙❙ The sanction systems are still in the initial stages of
implementation.
Capacity building
Bank efforts relating to capacity building of RMCs have
been inadequate. The limited institutional capacity of
RMCs severely constrains efficiency and effectiveness of
procurement. Capacity building requires a coordinated
strategy and continuing commitment and partnership with
the RMCs and development partners.
Recommendations
Management should consider the following recommendations:
1. Adapt policies to reflect the latest thinking with respect
to value for money, green procurement, and the Bank’s
strategic emphasis (for example, on inclusion and gender);
allow the use of new methods that are appropriate for the
changing nature of operations.
2. Revise the Procurement Delegation of Authority Matrix
immediately to give more authority, appropriate flexibility,
and clearer lines of responsibility and accountability to
field offices; continue to build the expertise of field office
procurement staff.
3. Move deliberately toward greater use of post review of
procurement results; begin by implementing the Bank’s
proposed new thresholds for international competitive
bidding and prior review, which take account of the
procuring entities’ expertise and growing experience.
4. Redirect procurement staff resources that are freed up by
changes in review thresholds and practices toward greater
involvement in upstream project design and planning to
improve project readiness and quality, and in downstream
assistance in contract implementation and capacity
building.
5. Make procurement information systems more responsive to
real-time project management needs and improve knowledge
sharing among decentralised Bank procurement specialists and
with procuring entities and governments.
6. Use procurement audits more extensively, including those
by external auditors who have appropriate qualifications
and experience that are quite different from financial audit
requirements. Audit results should be publicised more widely
among concerned parties and acted upon.
7. Help RMCs meet their urgent capacity building needs by
implementing a well-defined Bank strategy and providing
sustained resources and innovative methods; include
national organisations, the private sector, and civil society
organisations in these capacity building efforts. The strategy
should be based on understanding the Bank’s comparative
advantage and niche, be included in Country Strategy Papers
and be based on collaboration with development partners
(such as the World Bank and USAID).
8. Move more vigorously toward the long-committed use of country
procurement systems by formalising agreements with countries
whose systems are acceptable and making necessary changes
in procedures for ongoing and new projects.
9. Agree with member countries and stakeholders on
suitable indicators that will enable meaningful measures of
procurement effectiveness, efficiency and value for money.
Databases should be established and maintained by the
Bank and member countries so that these analyses can be
made on a regular basis.
Management Response
Management welcomes the independent evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the
Bank’s operational procurement policies and procedures. Management overall agrees with the main
recommendations of the Review, and remains committed to maintaining high fiduciary standards in
procurement processes conducted under interventions financed by the Bank. In addition, management
also remains committed to assist borrowers in obtaining optimal value for money, developing their
country procurement systems and realizing their socio-economic and environment al sustainability policy
objectives.
IDEV conducts different types of evaluations — to achieve its
strategic objectives
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Independent Development Evaluation
African Development Bank
Statutory Headquarters:
Immeuble du Centre de commerce International d’Abidjan (CCIA)
Avenue Jean-Paul II 01 BP 1387, Abidjan 01 Côte d’Ivoire
Phone: +225 20 26 20 41 • Fax: +225 20 21 31 00 • Email: idevhelpdesk@afdb.org
idev.afdb.org
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