According to the United Nations, every year, an estimated US$1 trillion is paid in bribes and US$2.6 trillion is stolen through corruption. Together, this sum represents 5% of annual global GDP. Further, in developing countries, funds lost to corruption are estimated to be ten times the amount of the overall Official Development Assistance. Public procurement accounts for a significant amount of government spending: the OECD estimates that countries spend an average of 13-20% of their GDPs on procurement. The OECD Foreign Bribery Report (2014) shows that more than half of foreign bribery cases occurred to obtain a public procurement contract. The inverse link between corruption and successful development outcomes has been well established: corruption deters investment and impedes economic growth, exacerbates income inequality, increases the cost of government services, lowers trust in government, and increases political instability.
The direct costs of corruption include loss of public funds through misallocations or higher expenses and lower quality of goods, services, and works (OECD, 2015a). Those paying the bribes seek to recover their money by inflating prices, billing for work not performed, failing to meet contract standards, reducing quality of work or using inferior materials, in case of public procurement of works. This results in exaggerated costs and a decrease in quality. A study by the OECD and the World Bank shows that corruption in the infrastructure and extractives sectors lead to misallocation of public funds and substandard and insufficient services (OECD, 2015a). Although it is difficult to measure the exact cost of corruption due to its hidden nature, it has been estimated that between 10-30% of the investment in publicly-funded construction projects may be lost through mismanagement and corruption (COST, 2012), and that estimates of 20-30% of project value lost through corruption are widespread (Wells, 2014; Stansbury, 2005).
This BBL will present the most promising new technologies that can be applied to detect and prevent fraud and corruption in public procurement.
1) Advantages of early detection of fraud and corruption (F&C) in public procurement and the technologies that can help;
2) Opportunities and benefits from using digital tools to tackle F&C in the public procurement;
3) How technology is most effective when paired with traditional methods and integrated with “analog” components of reform.
Chair, Speakers & Discussants
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
| 7:30 - 8:00 | Meet and Greet |
| 8:00 - 8:05 | Introduction by Nagaraju Duthaluri, Lead Procurement Specialist, World Bank Welcome Remarks from the Chair – Hiba Tahboub, Procurement Practice Manager, Governance-Procurement, World Bank |
| 8:05 - 8:10 | Opening Remarks from Vinay Sharma, Global Director, Governance-Procurement, World Bank |
| 8:10 - 8:30 | Presentations on Early Detection of Fraud and Corruption in Public Procurement through Technology – Mike Kramer |
| 8:30 - 8:50 | Experts from India, Georgia, Rwanda, and Mauritius will provide examples from their countries |
| 8:50 - 9:00 | Discussants Speak (5 minutes each)
|
| 9:00 - 9:25 | Q+A |
W. Michael Kramer is a US-based attorney and consultant who specializes in providing investigative, training, and consulting services to international clients in the area of fraud and corruption. He served as a senior investigator with the Independent Investigating Committee into the UN Oil for Food Program in Iraq (The Volcker Committee) and has worked on anti-corruption matters in more than seventy countries. Before entering the private sector, Kramer was a Special Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, assigned to the investigation and trial of fraud and corruption cases throughout the United States. He received his BA degree in Philosophy from Princeton University and Juris Doctor Degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Vinay Ranjan Mishra works as Additional Member, Railway Board at the Indian Railways. He has 35 years of experience as procurement professional in various capacities covering policy, procurement, inventory planning and warehousing, and asset disposal. As head of Material Management function in Indian Railways, Vinay is responsible for ensuring availability of materials for train operations, maintenance and production of rollingstock and locomotives.
Kakha Demetrashvili has a strong background in Public Management, ICTD, and e-Governance in the context of democratic development and good governance. During the past 25 years, Dr. Demetrashvili was involved in a variety of specialized democratic governance programs including public administration reform, civil service reform, parliamentary strengthening, public finance management reform, government oversight, supreme audit reform, E-Governance, ICT4D, civil registry reform, decentralization and local governance reform, regional development, reform of electoral administration, as well as institutional-building and capacity development projects. Since 2014, Demetrashvili has employed as a Deputy Chairperson of the State Procurement Agency of Georgia.
Joyeuse Uwingeneye is Director General, Rwanda Public Procurement Authority and holds master’s degree in Banking and Finance (Financial Sector Policy) and bachelor’s degree in Economics. Ms. Uwingeneye was Focal Point and Project Coordinator (SIKASHI) at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for the implementation of the MoU between MasterCard and RDB which had the objective to transform Rwanda into a cashless society with focus on Pension, education and healthcare sectors; As Financial Sector Development Specialist at RDB, facilitated in the attraction of Big Brands to Rwanda such as Atlas Mara; Sanlam, Saham, I&M Group; Commercial Bank of Africa; and Bank of Africa.
Bhagwansing Dabeesing holds BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, an MSc in Land and Water Management (Option Irrigation Water Management), and MBA (with Specialization in Finance). He is a certified PPP Specialist. He has served for 25 years at top management level in SOEs. Since 2018, he has been working as Independent Member of the Procurement Policy Office.
