Training of national experts on MAPS evaluation methodology

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP) with the support of the World Bank, through the Program to Accelerate Institutional Governance and Reforms for Sustainable Service Functioning (PAGIR) organized, from January 20 to 24, 2025 at the Grand Hotel Kintélé, a training workshop for national experts on the evaluation of the public procurement system in the Republic of Congo according to the MAPS methodology.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr. Gervais BOUITI VIAUDO, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister in charge of governance, economic dialogue and the fight against corruption in the presence of Ms. Louise Pierrette MVONO, World Bank Resident Representative in the Republic of Congo, Ms. Régine TCHICAYA OBA, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Preschool, Primary, Secondary Education and Literacy, Mr. Ludovic NGOUALA, President of the ARMP Regulatory Council, Mr. Nicolas OKANDZI, Permanent Secretary for Public Finance Reforms and Mr. Thomas BANDIA, Coordinator of the PAGIR Coordination Unit.

This training workshop is part of PAGIR's priority activities to achieve the disbursement-linked indicator (DLI) 3 of the program with the objective of improving transparency and efficiency in public procurement and thus supporting the transition to program budgeting.

The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacities of national experts in the MAPS evaluation methodology for the success of this mission in the Republic of Congo. It was also about enabling participants to master the different stages of the MAPS evaluation process, master the techniques for developing the MAPS evaluation concept note, master the techniques for developing MAPS evaluation reports and develop the training workshop report.

About thirty national experts from public administration, private sector organizations and civil society associations participated in this training workshop.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Ludovic NGOUALA indicated the merit of this workshop initiated by public procurement regulation and control bodies. Arguing that the MAPS approach has produced encouraging results in other contexts.

Ms. Louise Pierrette MVONO, for her part, recalled that at the international level, the technical and financial partners who have worked on the MAPS methodology have opened access to trust funds for States to help them evaluate their own procurement systems and support selected actors to find solutions to problems identified during this MAPS evaluation. And that the World Bank remained willing to support this process.

Opening the work, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Gervais BOUITI VIAUDO, recalled the context and legal framework for revitalizing public procurement system reforms in the Republic of Congo driven by the President of the Republic. He expressed the will of the Government of the Republic of Congo which is active through several reforms on public finance management to improve our economic environment. He stipulated that MAPS provided the country with a harmonized tool to conduct its public procurement system because the optimal use of public funds and the achievement of concrete and sustainable results depend on a transparent, rational and robust system. He urged participants to seize this opportunity to enrich their experience with the consultant so that by the end of this training workshop the MAPS methodology would be better mastered by all. Mr. Gervais BOUITI VIAUDO also thanked the Permanent Secretariat for Public Finance Reforms for the diligence in holding this activity.

The training workshop for national experts on the MAPS methodology was conducted around communications led by international consultant Pierre MORRIN; communications covering, among others, the presentation of the MAPS methodology; the concept note; the examination of the indicator matrix; the examination of pillars and their indicators.