Code of Conduct on Procurement

Public Procurement which is one of the major activities in every public institution results, in aggregate, into substantial public expenditure representing a significant percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a number of countries. In Mauritius, for the year 2014 an amount of Rs 16.7 billion was approved for contracts above Rs 100,000 representing nearly 5% of GDP for that year. Wherever there are movements of goods and financial resources, curbing the high risk of malpractices/corruption remains a major challenge of governance institutions.

Recognising such risks, the public procurement system, as designed in the Public Procurement Act 2006, embeds Article 9 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption that emphasises, amongst others, the three core principles for an effective procurement system namely, transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision making.

The ICAC, in collaboration with the Procurement Policy Office, has revised the former “Code of Conduct for Public Officials Involved in Procurement” that was issued in 2009. This revised Code of Conduct which emphasises on ethical issues complements the provisions of the law. We urge public officials to comply with the Code to uphold the standards of integrity in public procurement practices.