Professional training and accreditation in public procurement and audit

As part of the project to strengthen governance and economic growth in Tunisia:

Promoting transparency and integrity in public procurement, the mandate aimed at training and accrediting government agents to contribute to the professionalisation of the public procurement sector in Tunisia.

Public procurement is a key element of good governance. It mobilises considerable financial resources that have a significant impact on the country’s public finances.

To achieve a high level of efficiency, effectiveness, and trust, it is essential to move towards professionalising the profession and recognising it as a full-fledged profession. Professionalisation is a medium- to long-term process, and the first crucial step is to have a critical mass of competent resources in this area.

The mandate, which has now been completed, addresses this step. About one hundred executives from the HAICOP and various public institutions participated in a training/accreditation programme, with fifty-five (55) in procurement and fifty-four (54) in public procurement audit and control.

Finally, the consultant’s mandate aimed to equip the country with a critical mass of competent individuals in public procurement within the public administration and included the following deliverables:

•L1: 55 accredited public procurement experts

•L2: 54 accredited public procurement audit experts

•L3: Training support toolkit

•L4: Public procurement audit procedures manual

•L5: 30 trained trainers

•L6: Practical internship in audit

•L7: Accredited management platform

The consultant understood the mandate as a contribution to establishing and strengthening Good Governance in the public sector. More specifically, this mandate aimed to modernise and professionalise the procurement system, meaning enabling the Tunisian system to achieve two specific objectives:

1.Align its public procurement system with international best practices.

2.Respond to the new requirements of the evolving public procurement function at the international level.

As highlighted, the general objective was broken down into four specific objectives:

• 1.Specific Objective 1 (SO1): To improve the training and career management of public procurement practitioners, particularly through the establishment of a competency certification system.
• 2.Specific Objective 2 (SO2): To provide tools and methods to support professional procurement practices.
• 3.Specific Objective 3 (SO3): To initiate the implementation of a national strategy for the training and professionalisation of public procurement.

Additionally, an important objective for ensuring proper execution was:

• 4.Specific Objective 4 (SO4): To execute the mandate to the full satisfaction of the Client.

• The mission was carried out successfully to the client’s satisfaction. The challenging conditions related to the pandemic led both partners to opt for a remote programme in virtual mode (training, accreditation exams, internships, project management), and the continuous involvement of the HAICOP counterparts, as well as the consultant’s expertise, ensured the successful completion of the mandate with excellence.
• The 7 deliverables initially identified were provided on time, according to the contractual terms, and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
• The consultants from SETYM International would like to highlight the work of the steering committee members in the successful execution of the mandate. Despite the heavy workload, they demonstrated their commitment throughout the entire process.