The Regulatory Reforms Committee of the Cabinet met on Thursday, the same day as the Procurement Regulatory Authority, and processed a number of amendments with the aim of increasing the ease of doing business. Time was, bureaucrats barricaded themselves behind the rules so as not merely to do nothing themselves, but to make sure that no one else could. The concept of putting wheels under a file came into being for a reason. Without that ‘speed’ money nothing could be done. The government acquiesced, so long as its favourites could get their work for free, and so long as it could pay its employees low salaries. Apart from their ability to make businessmen and potential investors jump through hoops by relying on the rules (which would evaporate into thin air for the right payment), bureaucrats relied on their ability to make purchases, which would be paid for by public money. Not only were civil servants careless about the spending of taxpayers’ money, but they took a cut from unscrupulous suppliers who wanted to make the supply (at well adobe the market price). Of course, procurement has its own issues, often because of the nature of the item. How much does a tank cost on the open market, for example?
The government actually has got an experiment going in the shape of the PPRA. It is supposed to draft purchase and acquisition rules for all departments. If it succeeds in its task, this will reflect on the possibility of setting up a similar authority for the rules. In the absence of such a body, a Cabinet Committee has been entrusted with the task. That the Committee be headed by the Investment Minister makes sense, because the rules are usually exploited to fleece investors. These rule changes also acquire importance because they should facilitate the privatisation process, as potential buyers come up against the rules in the due diligence process.
The government needs to go through the entire regulatory structure of government and examine it ab initio, making changes where necessary. It is only by such action that it will ready itself for the present day. The sooner the government, both elected and permanent officials realize they are there to serve the people, to facilitate rather than obstruct. The sooner it is realized that rules are there to ensure the laws are followed, and purchases must be made with cue circumspection, and neither are meant to provide anyone a post-retirement nest-egg, the better.
