The impact of Benin’s first public procurement code and its amendment on healthcare equipment acquisition prices

Published date05 November 2018
Pages306-322
Date05 November 2018
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-11-2018-018
AuthorPamphile Thierry Houngbo,Maikel Kishna,Marjolein Zweekhorst,Daton Medenou,Joske G.F. Bunder-Aelen
Subject MatterPublic policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management,Government,Economics,Public finance/economics,Taxation/public revenue
The impact of Beninsrst public
procurement code and its
amendment on healthcare
equipment acquisition prices
Pamphile Thierry Houngbo
Ministry of Health Benin, Cotonou, Benin and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Maikel Kishna
Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Marjolein Zweekhorst
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Daton Medenou
University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin, and
Joske G.F. Bunder-Aelen
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose To satisfy donors and reducepublic procurement acquisition prices, Benin has implementedand
amended its rstpublic procurement code guided by top-downprinciples of good governance.
Design/methodology/approach This study aims to measure the impact of the code and its
amendmenton public procurement acquisition prices of health-careequipment from 1995 to 2010.
Findings A segmented linear regression analysiswas performed using interrupted time-series data. The
analysis shows that the code and its amendment did not reduce acquisition prices, indicating the limited
impact of the code. The authors recommend the implementationof bottom-up processes in establishing the
public procurement system,and the development of a reference pricelistof the most widely used health-care
equipment,as possible solutions for improving the effectivenessof the code.
Keywords Benin, Public procurement code, Healthcare equipment acquisition
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Good governance is crucial in both developed and developing countries, as it is a key
determinant of economic growth and social advancement (Siddiqi et al., 2009). In general, it
can be seen as the process whereby governments conductpublic affairs and manage public
resources with due regard for the law and in a manner free of abuse and corruption. Good
governance is facilitated by using basic principles of transparency, accountability and
integrity (Vaidya et al.,2006). An important element of good governance is effective public
procurement (PP). Public procurement is at the centre of the way public money is spent as
budgets are translated into serviceslargely through the governments purchase of property,
JOPP
18,4
306
Journalof Public Procurement
Vol.18 No. 4, 2018
pp. 306-322
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1535-0118
DOI 10.1108/JOPP-11-2018-018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1535-0118.htm
plant, equipment, works, goodsand services (UNOPS, 2010). In many developing countries,
PP as percentage of total expenditures ranges from 12 to 70 per cent (OECD, 2005;Bidias,
2010). Public procurement is designed to increase competition to obtain the best pricesand
to ensure the quality and timely delivery of public commands. Moreover, effective PP
systems are essential for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG 12.7)
and the promotion of sustainabledevelopment.
Developing countries are at risk of impeding development effectiveness and scaring
away investments from for instance international donors and nancing institutions in the
absence of good governance PP systems (Achua, 2011). Furthermore, PP is vulnerable to
corruption and waste due to the high amount of nancial transactions between the public
and private sector (Nesti, 2014).Benin is one of the developing countries that relies strongly
on PP (Bidias, 2010) but has in the past paid high acquisition prices for works, goods and
services (World Bank WB, 1999; MS,2002a). Facing pressure from donors and increasingPP
costs in 1989, the Government of Benin started to develop and implement a PP system
guided by top-down principles of good governance (World Bank WB, 1999). The main aim
of this PP system was to reduce the acquisition prices that the government had to pay. An
ordinance and three decrees of implementation were taken to institute the rst Benin Public
Procurement Code (BPPC)and its application(PR, 1996; PR, 1999a; PR, 1999b).
The development and implementationof the PP code was not a straightforward process.
Its content was the subject of many debates. Given the limited experience of Benins
government in setting up such a code challenges were to be expected. Following external
pressures, the government decided to go ahead and implement the rst PP code, but aimed
to review it regularly and revise it as appropriate (World Bank WB, 1999). The rst code
was implemented in 1999 and remained in effect until 2004. During this time, the Benin
Procurement Assessment Review undertook an evaluation that identied the codes
weaknesses and an amendment was developed. The amended code was implemented in
2004 with the approvalof the parliament (AN, 2004).
An important question remains: what was the impact of the BPPC and the amended
public procurement code on healthcareacquisition prices? This paper seeks to measure the
impact of implementing the rst Benin PP code and its amendment on the public
procurement acquisition prices (PPAP) of healthcare equipment from 1995 to 2010. The PP
code was introduced in the publichealth sector in 2001 and continued up to 2004 (MSP, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004). Subsequently,the amended PP code was implemented from 2005 to 2010.
PP of healthcare equipment represents about 20 per cent of Benins public health budget
(MSP, 2005). In many developing countries, the import, transfer and implementation of
health-care technologies, especially health-care equipment, in the public health sector
depends on loans provided by donors or international nancing institutions. In this sector,
PP traditionally resulted in very high acquisition prices of healthcare equipment in the
absence of effective policy and benchmarkingprices (MS, 2002b; Houngbo et al.,2012).
To determine the impact of the PP code and its amendment, segmented linear regression
analysis (SLRA) of interrupted time series (ITS) data was performed. The ITS data consist of
PP acquisition price data collected before and after the implementation of the code and its
amendment. In addition, private sector acquisition prices (PSAP) were collected and used as a
comparison group. The PP code and its amendment can be considered good governance
practices if they succeeded in reducing the PPAP of healthcare equipment in the studied period.
Methods
The study was carried out in Cotonou, the economic capitalof Benin, and is based on an ITS
design, which is the strongest quasi-experimental approach for evaluating the longitudinal
Health-care
equipment
acquisition
prices
307

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT