Use of Country Procurement Systems by MDBs — A Good Time to Switch? User Perspectives Amidst Select Procurement Practices in the State of Rajasthan (India)

Historically, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have insisted upon borrowing countries' use of MDB procurement guidelines for conduct of procurement actions under externally-aided projects, based on the assumption that MDB procurement frameworks are more effective and promote greater competition/ value-for-money while achieving programme outcomes. However, particularly during the last two decades, there has been considerable deliberations and policy shifts in lending institutions' policies while using “Program-for-Results” (PforR) and other similar approaches for extending developmental assistance, so as to place greater reliance on country procurement systems (CPSs) for conducting procurement activities under such externally-aided projects. This short paper compares stated objectives of such MDB reliance on CPSs with expected outcomes from such policy shifts, based purely on a discussion of select procurement practices in the State of Rajasthan in India vis-à-vis recently-issued 2016 World Bank (draft) guidance on minimum standards for assessment of CPSs (termed as “Alternative Procurement Arrangements” under new 2015 WB procurement guidelines), the OECD-sponsored “Methodology for Assessment of Procurement Systems” (MAPS), and also vis-à-vis relevant MDB procurement guidelines/ best practices. The paper thus attempts to draw lessons, based on such analysis, on how this important transition may need to be better managed so as to ensure mutually satisfactory achievement of programme outcomes expected from the use of modern approaches such as newer PforR-like frameworks supported by MDBs