Procurement practices in the singapore civil service: balancing control and delegation
| Pages | 29-53 |
| Published date | 01 April 2002 |
| Date | 01 April 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-02-01-2002-B002 |
| Author | David S. Jones |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management,Government,Economics,Public Finance/economics,Texation/public revenue |
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1, 29-53 2002
PROCUREMENT PRACTICES IN THE SINGAPORE CIVIL
SERVICE: BALANCING CONTROL AND DELEGATION
David S. Jones*
ABSTRACT. The article examines the extent that public procurement in
Singapore remains under centralized control and how much has been delegated
to the line agencies, which are the recipients of the goods and services
purchased. The article shows that Singapore has adopted a mixed hybrid model
of public procurement. Procedural rules and evaluation criteria relating to
procurement are imposed by centralized authorities, which also undertake bulk
purchasing. Operational functions such as interpreting the rules and criteria,
making purchasing decisions and awarding contracts are performed by the line
agencies. The balance thus achieved between centralization and delegation
arises from the desire to meet the divergent requirements that shape the
government procurement system.
INTRODUCTION
An important question in public procurement is to what extent it
should be controlled by central procurement authorities within the
government bureaucracy, or delegated to operational agencies
responsible for public programs, which are the recipients of the supplies
and services acquired. Determining where the appropriate balance lies is
an important question, given the percentage of the public budget spent on
procurements, and the impact of procurements upon the effectiveness
and efficiency of public programs (Thai & Grimm, 2000). This question
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* David S. Jones, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor, Department of Political
Science, National University of Singapore. His teaching and research interests
include government budgeting, performance management in the public sector,
and regulation and enforcement, as well as public procurement.
Copyright © 2002 by PrAcademics Press
30 JONES
has assumed increased salience with the delegation of greater operational
autonomy to line agencies under budgetary and other reforms associated
with New Public Management, which have been implemented in many
countries, including Singapore. Part of that delegation has been the
increased responsibilities for procurement exercised by line agencies in
recent years, replacing centralized purchasing. This has happened in
Singapore as well as in other countries.
The article will focus on the balance between centralization and
delegation in the public procurement process in Singapore. It will first
consider the policy and practices of public procurement in Singapore, the
different types of procurement which have been adopted and the
processes followed in the purchasing of goods and services. The article
will then examine those aspects of the public procurement process
subject to centralized direction, and those which are delegated to
government agencies as recipients of the goods and services purchased,
in each case explaining the rationale for the authority exercised whether
centralized or delegated. Also considered is how budgetary reform has
affected the balance between centralization and delegation in the public
procurement process. In conclusion, the article will identify the model of
public procurement that Singapore has adopted as determined by the
extent of centralized control and delegation, and will evaluate how
appropriate that model is in light of the underlying values and
circumstances which shape the role of the government bureaucracy.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND GOVERNMENT EXPEDNITURE IN
SINGAPORE
The central institution of government administration in Singapore is
the Civil Service, which consists of 15 Ministries, sub-divided into
Departments. In addition, there are 40 Statutory Boards, each set up
under an Act of Parliament, which undertake specialized and commercial
activities within the state bureaucracy. Whilst formally separate from the
Civil Service, each Statutory Board is affiliated to a Ministry. Many
Statutory Boards are funded totally or partly by the Government, whilst
others are fully self-financing. Ministries and many of the Statutory
Boards are responsible for purchasing most of the goods and services
they need, and are known as the Government Procurement Entities
(GPEs). In 2001, the number of employees in the Civil Service and
Government-funded Statutory Boards was about 120,000 with over
61,000 employed in the Civil Service itself (BD,
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