Micro-procurement maze demands urgent reform

The Monitor Editor | Wednesday December 17, 2025 06:21

Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be heeded because, without stricter regulatory oversight, the integrity of our national procurement framework is under threat.

The principle behind micro-procurement is to streamline minor acquisitions and empower citizen-owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The data shows success on one front, as citizen firms secured 74% of the number of awards. Yet, this victory rings hollow against the reality that the bulk of high-value capital remains with foreign entities. This disparity reveals a system where local businesses are funnelled into a fragmented marketplace of smaller contracts, whilst the most lucrative projects follow a different, less transparent path.

By setting a financial threshold that triggers mandatory open bidding, the regulations have inadvertently created a loophole. The PPRA’s concern over 'tender splitting', the practice of dividing large projects into smaller parcels to avoid competitive scrutiny, is the logical consequence of a P8 billion micro-procurement ecosystem. When only 21% of projects valued above P300,000 undergo legally required open bidding, it signifies a systemic bypass of the very processes designed to ensure fairness, competition, and value for public money.

This trend undermines the foundational pillars of public procurement: transparency, accountability, and equitable development. It exposes the process to misuse and erodes public trust. The state’s annual procurement budget is a powerful engine for national development, and it must not be quietly dispersed through channels that obscure where and how funds are spent.

Therefore, we echo and amplify the PPRA’s call for decisive action. Stricter oversight is imperative. This must involve enhanced monitoring and data analytics to detect patterns of evasion, stricter retrospective audits of micro-procurement clusters, and reconsideration of threshold values. Furthermore, empowering the PPRA with stronger punitive measures for non-compliant procuring entities is crucial.

The government must act now to reinforce the rules, ensuring that micro-procurement serves its original purpose rather than becoming a macro-problem for accountability and growth.