Botswana is more developed than most African nations. But there is still corruption that needs to be tackled and more recognition for buyers could help, finds Angeline Albert

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International gave Botswana a medium corruption score of 5.8, a better rating than all other African nations. And anecdotally, its experts say the quality of procurement practice in the country is considered to be third in Africa, behind South Africa and Ghana respectively.  

Despite all this, many Batswana believe the country has a problem with corruption that must be addressed. Improving the capability and profile of its purchasers is one way it can tackle this.

Uncovering corruption

The country’s construction, diamond and tourism industries are key drivers for economic growth. They are areas where good procurement can make a difference, but allegations of corruption have been linked to them.

Andrew Matlhabaphiri, Botswana branch committee chairperson for CIPS, believes many tenders awarded in the construction sector are tainted with corruption: “Purchasing officers will ask for their cut or refuse to grant work. More than 50 per cent of public sector purchasing officers are involved in that,” he tells SM. “The best thing is never to do it, even once. If you receive a bribe once, can you say no tomorrow?”

Public sector buying is considered to be in worse shape than purchasing in the private sector, but 
critics say government support is needed to address 
corruption in both. An example of uninformed procurement was highlighted recently when former acting minister for defence, justice and security, Lesego Motsumi, admitted the Botswana government did not know who ran the companies that won contracts to supply vehicles for its defence forces between 1990-2000. Critics argued this shamed the procurement industry and the Public Procurement Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), which is responsible for adjudicating and awarding tenders for central government.

Leader of the opposition Botsalo Ntuane has told parliament anti-corruption legislation is needed to improve buying practices. “Sectors such as tourism, construction, procurement and even mineral concessions are fertile and exclusive territory for certain cliques. To secure business in this country, entrepreneurs, local and foreign, have to curry favour with a select group of gatekeepers who dole out deals in return for shareholding or a slice of the pie,” he said.

Ntuane has called for effective legislation on the 
declaration of assets by public officers with influence on tender processes, the criminalisation of business 
relationships between public servants and their close relatives and friends, and legislative protection for 
whistleblowers.

President Seretse Khama Ian Khama said in his November state of the nation address: “While we appreciate the fact that respected organisations such as Transparency International and the World Economic Forum continue to commend Botswana as among the world’s least corrupt countries, as well as a benchmark for Africa, we know that fighting corruption and fraud is a never-ending struggle.

“Our anti-corruption efforts have succeeded in uncovering malpractices, which we are dealing with in various divisions of the public service. Of particular concern has been the deliberate mismanagement of projects resulting in serious cost overruns including the issuance of permits, licenses and ID cards.”

The fight back

The president warned officers in the public and private sector that action against corruption would be taken and that his Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime had enlisted the help of foreign anti-corruption experts to do so. One man who is playing his part to tackle corruption is Thuso Mphela, a lecturer in logistics and supply chain management at Botswana University. The professor is working with CIPS to develop a degree in logistics and supply chain management. David Noble visited the country and signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Botswana University in February 2010.

Mphela thinks part of the problem is the current structure of the country’s public procurement system. The set up takes three forms. Informal purchasing covers deals below P20,000 ($2,920); purchases of between P20,001-P250,000 ($2,920.1-$36,500) approved at ministerial level via a Ministerial Tender Committee; and contracts over P250,000 approved by the Central PPADB.

Mphela says of these three options, a lot of money is going through the informal purchasing track.

“So long as buyers send RFQs (request for quotations) to at least three supplier companies, it is considered okay. Nobody questions which suppliers they are or the quotation they give, as long as it is in the P20,000 threshold. This means work worth P10,000 may go for P19,000. A lot of bribes are being paid. Untrained buyers communicate to companies they know will respond. If two out of three don’t respond it doesn’t matter.”

He also believes the right training for buyers is key to unlocking good procurement practices and preventing corruption: “I interact with PPADB officers employed by the government. Each department has a purchasing officer but a lot of them are simply not qualified. Most are qualified in accounting, HR and finance but are given purchasing officer responsibilities.”

Mphela believes Botswana suffers from a lack of trained public sector buyers because the government doesn’t recognise purchasing as a strategic function. He cites the example of the government department Central Medical Supplies, which has an annual spend of P500 million ($75 million) but whose director reports only to the deputy permanent secretary of the treasury.

Getting qualified

Mphela estimates that less than one per cent of public sector buyers are CIPS qualified. And while he and branch chairman Matlhabaphiri rank Botswana’s level of procurement practice as third in Africa, they believe CIPS qualified procurement professionals need a higher profile. Mphela hopes the degree in logistics and supply chain management will be recognised not only by CIPS but also by the government, which will boost the profile of purchasers since Botswana University graduates are held in high regard.

Local buyer Kay Gaogakwe makes a similar point, telling SM: “Our government is still not taking much consideration of CIPS. Imagine people with [CIPS] level 5 without a job in Botswana.”

Matlhabaphiri agrees. “Students start CIPS qualifications but drop out because there is no incentive from the government as a prospective employer.”

The public sector runs a national internship 
programme which enrols degree graduates but, according to Matlhabaphiri, it “does not understand CIPS,” something he is working to change by engaging in talks with its director.

“If we convince the Directorate of Public Service Management [government’s purchasing employer] to recognise CIPS, it will be a major step.”

More information

CIPS has 1,250 members in Botswana. Andrew Matlhabaphiri, Botswana branch committee chairperson, says there’s an absence of purchasing associations to help monitor the operations of qualified buyers in Botswana. He travels from town to town armed with a laptop to keep in touch with purchasers. Matlhabaphiri wants more CIPS-qualified buyers to help raise the profile of the profession and get involved in branch activity. Contact him by email: andasxx@yahoo.co.uk or call: 00 267 71447550.

Quick Botswana fact file

Capital: Gaborone

Population: 2,029,307

Main industry: Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, 
which dominates economic activity