KABUL (SW) – The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee on Tuesday highlighted shortcomings at the Ministry of Interior.
In its Ministry-Wide Vulnerability to Corruption Assessment (MVCA) of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, it highlighted vulnerability to corruption in three areas of activity: Procurement, Logistics and Human Resources Management.
During its Assessment, the MVCA team met Ministry staff in Kabul and Provincial offices in Balkh and Herat. For Procurement, the report focused on issues affecting Planning, Bidding, Bidding Evaluation, and Implementation and Monitoring. Concerning Logistics, the MVCA team focused on logistics at MoIA headquarters in Kabul, especially on inventory management. For Human Resources Management, the MVCA team focused on issues around Recruitment, Performance Appraisal, Promotion, and Retirement.
The MVCA identified significant concerns in all three areas. Concerns about Procurement in Procurement Planning, the MVCA team found deficiencies liable to make the procurement process extremely vulnerable to corruption. These included: (i) Lack of detailed planning; (ii) Weak coordination between Procurement staff and other Directorates; (iii) The over-use of single-source contracting; (iv) Use of non-competitive procedures without adequate justification or in breach of the requirements; and (v) Sub-standard knowledge of procurement requirements by staff.
Concerning Procurement Bidding, issues making Ministry procurement highly susceptible to corruption included: (i) The omission of detailed criteria when inviting tenders; (ii) No clear policy (or practice), regarding advertising of bids; (iii) Lack of transparency in the bidding process; 2 (iv) Limited tendering in preference to open tendering; and (v) No tender box to enable protocols for tendering to be observed.
Regarding Bidding Evaluation, the MVCA team found concerns around: (i) Non-adherence to procurement policy as to when bids should be received and opened; (ii) Evidence of outside interference in decision-making; (iii) Vague selection criteria and review and remedial mechanisms; and (iv) The absence of conflict of interest declarations and confidentiality agreements.
Finally, regarding Implementation and Monitoring, the MVCA team identified: (i) Payment delays for suppliers; (ii) Inadequate and poorly managed filing and record systems; and (iii) Absence of a complaints system.
Meanwhile, Nusrat Rahimi, spokesman for the MoIA, welcomed the MEC report. He said in a message sent to Salam Watandar that the developments made in this regard would soon be shared with the people.
ENDS
