BLOGS
A new tool to track how countries use exclusion to promote integrity and achieve best value
Submitted by : Collin David Swan, Nikolaos Doukellis, Caroline Nagel Wachtell & Riya Kaustubh Gavaskar, World Bank
Exclusion is a tool commonly available to governments to protect their procurement systems from fraudulent or corrupt suppliers and reduce performance risk. But despite the prevalence of this mechanism – which has many labels, including “debarment,” “disqualification,” “suspension,” and “blacklisting” – little research has been...
Tackling the public sector wage bill in the GCC
Submitted by : Ismail Radwan & Izzah Akram Malik, World Bank
Countries in the MENA region and especially those in the Gulf have long run large public sectors. As part of the social contract, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments have provided free health care, education, social security benefits, and subsidized housing and utilities to their...
GeM the way forward towards developing India's marketplace.
Submitted by : Dr Gurbandini Kaur, Associate Professor, AIMA
GeM portal the e-procurement platform by Government of India launched in August 2016, for online procurement of goods and services by central and state government...
Infrastructure maintenance: Among G20 top priorities
Submitted by : Luisa M. Mimmi, World Bank
Though it went almost unnoticed by the media, something remarkable occurred at the July G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Venice: the endorsement of a G20 Policy Agenda on Infrastructure...
Scaling up PPPs by engaging impact investing charities and foundations
Submitted by : Patricia Sulser, World Bank
Unfortunately, once due diligence is under way, it becomes apparent that the lifecycle costs of some highly beneficial infrastructure public private partnerships (PPPs) in developing countries are simply too high or returns too low or uncertain (vis-à-vis project risk) to attract enough capital from private investors and...
GovTech in the age of COVID: Urgent need and uneven progress
Submitted by : Kimberly Johns, Cem Dener, World Bank
GovTech – the use of the latest technology to modernize the public sector -- has great potential to deliver on the promises of the digital age by improving core government systems and services to citizens...
Tackling corruption in governments’ COVID-19 health responses
Submitted by : Aneta Wierzynska, David Clarke, Mark Dibiase, Anga R. Timilsina, Srinivas Gurazada, World Bank
When the World Bank expressed concern that “prices have gone up by 20 times—or 2,000%—for some items during COVID-19”, the question arose of whether market demand and supply alone had produced such an extraordinary result. Or was the situation compounded by elite capture of resources, manipulation of markets, and...
How Indian State of Odisha is using efficient procurement to combat COVID-19
Submitted by : Yamini Sarangi & Shanker Lal, World Bank
COVID-19 has impacted almost all countries around the globe including India, which at the end of July 2020 had the world’s third-highest number of documented cases. As the pandemic continues to evolve, the medicines and treatment protocols required are constantly changing. This is compounded by the disruptions in the supply chain, posing...