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Afemikhe harps on due process and value for money

Posted to the Web: Sunday, December 11, 2005

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Budget implementation and value for money: The due process experience

Author: Samuel Afemikhe

Pagination: 499

Reviewer: Dele Sobowale

THE book, Budget Implementation and Value For Money: The Due Process Experience, is the second in the series by the author, Samuel Afemikhe, on the general subject of Value For Money and the Due Process the two ideas driving the procurement process by the Federal Government today. The book, which is 499 pages long excluding those devoted to Dedication, Foreword, Preface and Acknowledgements contains nine chapters as well as appendices, bibliography and eleven pages of index.

The foreword written by Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, now Minister for Industries, but better known as Madam Due Process, set out briefly and clearly what the Due Process Mechanism is. According to her, the process seeks “to pursue economy, efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement.

It is the application of principles of openness or transparency, competency or qualification and competition or equal opportunity to all, in the conduct and award of federal contracts, thus ensuring that the winner, the cost and the quality, are right for every kobo of the Nigerian public treasury that is spent in the purchase of goods, services and works”.

At this point, a lazy reader will be tempted to close the book having heard from the horse’s mouth so to say. But Samuel Afemikhe is to Madam Due Process what St. Paul was to Christ; he has gone further to analyse and to point to the practical applications of the words economy, efficiency, transparency, effectiveness, competency, and qualification in a manner that has given real life to what would have remained merely “a salad bowl of good intentions”; with apologies to George Santayana (1863-1952) the great Spanish philosopher.

The author almost threw the game away in the preface where he referred to his first book, The Pursuit of Value For Money which had dealt with the same subjects. An impatient reader, who had read the first book might be wondering if there is anything new to say on the subject. Indeed, there was a lot more to be said.

Statement of the principles

Whereas The Pursuit of Value For Money was written about the same time as the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) was established with Dr. Ezekwesili as the Head of the Unit, Budget Implementation and Value For Money: The Due Process Experience constitutes the first assessment of the Due Process Mechanism in practice.

Thus, the first book could be considered as the statement of the principles involved while the second book while still restating some of the principles and recommendations for implementation, has included reports of our collective experience with Due Process. It has also revealed how successful had been the attempt to ensure that the taxpayers, although relatively few, obtain value for public expenditure on goods and services.

The first Chapter titled The Years of the Locust, reminds us of the deficiencies and corrupt practices attending public procurement resulting in pervasive poverty, broken and ill-maintained infrastructure and ultimately intractable under-development. Chapter two defines the various aspects of the Due Process Mechanism, frequently in the same way that the author did in the first book but also in novel ways by bringing fresh examples to drive home the points made.

Chapter three provides a theoretical framework which some readers might consider baffling or even irrelevant until they get to the next four chapters. Chapter four offers the definitions of waste, fraud and abuse and how to eradicate them while drawing from the theoretical template provided in Chapter three. The chapter also takes the reader through the procurement procedure to highlight areas where corruption takes place. It ends by pointing to the measures government has attempted to put in place. Like the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the enactment of the Anti-Corruption Act. Perhaps out of oversight or because the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not been established by the time the chapter was written, that most potent weapon against corruption was left out.

Chapter seven takes the reader through the record-keeping and accounting procedures that would need to be established for Due Process to work. For anyone not interested or without prior exposure to accounting, this could be the most boring part of the book. But, for those who have some experience with accounting and financial records, there is enough in that chapter to set off loud debates for decades. Indeed, if all the suggestions in that chapter were to be implemented to the letter, the Federal Government will grind to a halt. But, the author can be forgiven because he is a professional accountant and bean counters like records.

Perhaps, the most controversial chapter is the eighth chapter titled The Challenge of Higher Standard in the Public Sector. While the intention is admirable, it is doubtful if the approaches that the author present will get the job done. Models like the7-S developed by McKinsey Consultants after studying Japanese firms in the 1970s and Six Sigma which were designed primarily for the private sector, were advanced as the correct models for all of the public sector. Granted the public sector can learn from the private sector, but it remains unclear whether their missions are the same.

One thing is clear, irrespective of the business man’s vision and mission, his major objective remains to make as much money as possible and for the professional manager, the yardstick for judgment remains enhancement of shareholders' value. The manager in the public sector quite frequently is faced with multiple objectives including equitable allocation of resources, sometimes in a manner that might not meet the standard of economic efficiency.

As if chapter nine was not controversial enough, the author in the final chapter titled The Due Process Mechanism and the Challenge of Change started the chapter by making the declaration for which all evangelists of novel idea are known all over the world. “The choice is TINA –There Is No Alternative.” To prove him wrong, the National Assembly which he had confidently expected to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, voted against it. So, there is an alternative and the lawmakers have chosen it; regrettably I might add.

The last point summarises the major fault with the book. Like most true believers in any change process, the author has taken for granted that facts will speak for themselves; that powerful arguments anchored on empirical studies will change minds. He, like the early apostles, underestimated the power of inertia and that of vested interests. The BMPIU won the first round; vested interests have taken the second round.

The BMPIU had done an excellent job; but it has also been disbanded. In its place are Ministry or Parastatal-based units staffed by people who have not received the sort of training that the book recommends and whose integrity is in doubt. The outcome of the third round is still to be decided; the gains that were made under Madam Due Process are not irreversible; at least not yet. In fact, one editor scanned the whole scene and likened it to returning fish to cats for safe-keeping.

The author and those who believe in the Due Process Mechanism can take heart though. Rome was not built in four years and without a long struggle, with this book, the struggle has not ended, it has just started. The book is highly recommended as a great reference material to those who want to join the struggle to enthrone Due Process and Value for Money.




	Afemikhe harps on due process and value for money Afemikhe harps on due process and value for money Posted to the Web: Sunday, December 11, 2005 BOOK REVIEW Title: Budget implementation and value for money: The due process experience Author: Samuel Afemikhe Pagination: 499 Reviewer: Dele Sobowale THE book, Budget Implementation and Value For Money: The Due Process Experience, is the second in the series by the author, Samuel Afemikhe, on the general subject of Value For Money and the Due Process the two ideas driving the procurement process by the Federal Government today. The book, which is 499 pages long excluding those devoted to Dedication, Foreword, Preface and Acknowledgements contains nine chapters as well as appendices, bibliography and eleven pages of index. The foreword written by Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, now Minister for Industries, but better known as Madam Due Process, set out briefly and clearly what the Due Process Mechanism is. According to her, the process seeks “to pursue economy, efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement. It is the application of principles of openness or transparency, competency or qualification and competition or equal opportunity to all, in the conduct and award of federal contracts, thus ensuring that the winner, the cost and the quality, are right for every kobo of the Nigerian public treasury that is spent in the purchase of goods, services and works”. At this point, a lazy reader will be tempted to close the book having heard from the horse’s mouth so to say. But Samuel Afemikhe is to Madam Due Process what St. Paul was to Christ; he has gone further to analyse and to point to the practical applications of the words economy, efficiency, transparency, effectiveness, competency, and qualification in a manner that has given real life to what would have remained merely “a salad bowl of good intentions”; with apologies to George Santayana (1863-1952) the great Spanish philosopher. The author almost threw the game away in the preface where he referred to his first book, The Pursuit of Value For Money which had dealt with the same subjects. An impatient reader, who had read the first book might be wondering if there is anything new to say on the subject. Indeed, there was a lot more to be said. Statement of the principles Whereas The Pursuit of Value For Money was written about the same time as the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) was established with Dr. Ezekwesili as the Head of the Unit, Budget Implementation and Value For Money: The Due Process Experience constitutes the first assessment of the Due Process Mechanism in practice. Thus, the first book could be considered as the statement of the principles involved while the second book while still restating some of the principles and recommendations for implementation, has included reports of our collective experience with Due Process. It has also revealed how successful had been the attempt to ensure that the taxpayers, although relatively few, obtain value for public expenditure on goods and services. The first Chapter titled The Years of the Locust, reminds us of the deficiencies and corrupt practices attending public procurement resulting in pervasive poverty, broken and ill-maintained infrastructure and ultimately intractable under-development. Chapter two defines the various aspects of the Due Process Mechanism, frequently in the same way that the author did in the first book but also in novel ways by bringing fresh examples to drive home the points made. Chapter three provides a theoretical framework which some readers might consider baffling or even irrelevant until they get to the next four chapters. Chapter four offers the definitions of waste, fraud and abuse and how to eradicate them while drawing from the theoretical template provided in Chapter three. The chapter also takes the reader through the procurement procedure to highlight areas where corruption takes place. It ends by pointing to the measures government has attempted to put in place. Like the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the enactment of the Anti-Corruption Act. Perhaps out of oversight or because the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not been established by the time the chapter was written, that most potent weapon against corruption was left out. Chapter seven takes the reader through the record-keeping and accounting procedures that would need to be established for Due Process to work. For anyone not interested or without prior exposure to accounting, this could be the most boring part of the book. But, for those who have some experience with accounting and financial records, there is enough in that chapter to set off loud debates for decades. Indeed, if all the suggestions in that chapter were to be implemented to the letter, the Federal Government will grind to a halt. But, the author can be forgiven because he is a professional accountant and bean counters like records. Perhaps, the most controversial chapter is the eighth chapter titled The Challenge of Higher Standard in the Public Sector. While the intention is admirable, it is doubtful if the approaches that the author present will get the job done. Models like the7-S developed by McKinsey Consultants after studying Japanese firms in the 1970s and Six Sigma which were designed primarily for the private sector, were advanced as the correct models for all of the public sector. Granted the public sector can learn from the private sector, but it remains unclear whether their missions are the same. One thing is clear, irrespective of the business man’s vision and mission, his major objective remains to make as much money as possible and for the professional manager, the yardstick for judgment remains enhancement of shareholders' value. The manager in the public sector quite frequently is faced with multiple objectives including equitable allocation of resources, sometimes in a manner that might not meet the standard of economic efficiency. As if chapter nine was not controversial enough, the author in the final chapter titled The Due Process Mechanism and the Challenge of Change started the chapter by making the declaration for which all evangelists of novel idea are known all over the world. “The choice is TINA –There Is No Alternative.” To prove him wrong, the National Assembly which he had confidently expected to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, voted against it. So, there is an alternative and the lawmakers have chosen it; regrettably I might add. The last point summarises the major fault with the book. Like most true believers in any change process, the author has taken for granted that facts will speak for themselves; that powerful arguments anchored on empirical studies will change minds. He, like the early apostles, underestimated the power of inertia and that of vested interests. The BMPIU won the first round; vested interests have taken the second round. The BMPIU had done an excellent job; but it has also been disbanded. In its place are Ministry or Parastatal-based units staffed by people who have not received the sort of training that the book recommends and whose integrity is in doubt. The outcome of the third round is still to be decided; the gains that were made under Madam Due Process are not irreversible; at least not yet. In fact, one editor scanned the whole scene and likened it to returning fish to cats for safe-keeping. The author and those who believe in the Due Process Mechanism can take heart though. Rome was not built in four years and without a long struggle, with this book, the struggle has not ended, it has just started. The book is highly recommended as a great reference material to those who want to join the struggle to enthrone Due Process and Value for Money.