PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: VALIDATION OF THE A PRIORI CONTROL PROCEDURES MANUAL OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT CONTROL (DGCMP) AND TRAINING OF KEY USERS.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: VALIDATION OF THE A PRIORI CONTROL PROCEDURES MANUAL OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT CONTROL (DGCMP) AND TRAINING OF KEY USERS.

To support the systemic reforms undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Congo, the DGCMP, with the support of the project “Program to Accelerate Institutional Governance and Reforms for Sustainable Service Management” (PAGIR), recruited a consultant who drafted a draft procedures manual for the a priori control of public procurement and public service delegations.

In this context, a workshop to validate the said draft procedures manual was held from August 29 to 31, 2026, at the Grand Hôtel de Kintélé. Organized by the DGCMP in collaboration with PAGIR, this workshop was attended by the Director General of Public Procurement Control, the Acting Director General of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP), representatives of the Permanent Secretariat for Public Finance Reforms, representatives of the ARMP, the DGCMP, the Public Governance Reform Monitoring Unit (CSRGP), and representatives of other administrations.

The Director General of Public Procurement Control, Mr. Joel IKAMA NGATSE, in his opening address at the workshop, stressed that this procedures manual, intended for DGCMP staff, aims strategically to provide an operational framework; describe the three (03) operational processes of a priori control of public procurement and public service delegations; describe the a priori control procedures for public procurement and public service delegations; harmonize practices; strengthen compliance with public procurement principles; master the various operational risks; promote communication; facilitate staff training; and improve the quality of management information.

After three (03) days of fruitful debates on form and substance, the draft manual of a priori control procedures of the DGCMP was adopted with amendments.

It should be noted that the development of this manual is based on the regulations in force and aims to contribute to strengthening the governance of the DGCMP and of the public procurement system in the Republic of Congo, and incorporates the objectives of the aforementioned Public Financial Management Reform Program for the period 2020 to 2029.

Furthermore, two (02) days after the validation of this a priori control procedures manual, still supported by PAGIR, the DGCMP organized, from September 2 to 4, at the Grand Hôtel de Kintélé, a training workshop on the use of the said manual. Also taking part in this workshop were DGCMP staff, representatives of the ARMP, and those of other administrations.

During this training, participants learned how to situate each of the 13 procedures in the manual within the life cycle of a public procurement contract or a DSP; systematically apply the Regularity / Integrity / Transparency triptych to the examination of a file; qualify the severity level of a non-compliance (critical, major, minor) and deduce the decision to be formulated; find, for each type of control, the precise regulatory basis justifying the verification operation; and distinguish the sections of the manual that have already been stabilized from those still being drafted, in order to guide their practice accordingly.

Lucien ELENGA,

Head of the Legal and Litigation Service at the ARMP