Mozambique: NGO alleges ‘bad practices’ in award of health service contracts

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Mozambique: NGO alleges ‘bad practices’ in award of health service contracts

2:46 CAT | 05 May 2020

File photo: MMO

The NGO “Centre for Public Integrity” (CIP) on Monday denounced bad practices in the contracting of services by the Ministry of Health in Mozambique, considering that there are businessmen who are benefiting from alleged inefficiency in tenders awarded by the ministry.

“From the analysis made to the tenders awarded by the Ministry of Health for the supply of medicines and medical articles and for building work between the years 2014 and 2019, it appears that many of these occurred amid inefficiency, lack of transparency and integrity,” reads a note from the organization distributed to the press today.

According to CIP, constant “direct adjustments” and alleged non-transparent evaluation criteria have favoured a group of companies, to the detriment of the state.

“The lack of competition means that the tenders are awarded at much higher prices than normal, in a situation of clear prejudice to the State,” reads the document, which stresses that during the period the Ministry of Health almost always chose the same companies to provide services and medicines.

On the other hand, according to the CIP note, tenders are awarded to companies without an assessment of their capacity to fulfil the contract after qualification.

“In the case of the supply of medicines and medical articles, it is very common for suppliers to present documents with quantities that do not match with the actual availability”, refers to the note.

The Mozambican NGO suggests that the Ministry of Health develop a joint action plan for transparency, in a process that also involves civil society bodies and is subject to constant audits.

“That the evaluation criteria of the tenders be more transparent and that qualified companies be submitted to a post-qualification evaluation in order to avoid the State buying ‘a pig in a poke'”, concluded the organization.

Source: Lusa