Page 65 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

That the authorities could uncover incidents such as these was thanks in part to an informed public,
with access to open data on government buying. This allows those who want to monitor ongoing
procurements in real time and report any potential irregularities anonymously.

“The pandemic actually provides an opportunity for countries to strengthen anti-corruption and
integrity, and so improve overall governance.”

U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre

Next steps

As of August 2020, Colombia has witnessed unprecedented use of its e-Procurement system and
continued providing access to the aggregated buying tool.

The country has also been one of the most innovative in using technology to help tackle the challenges
of the pandemic; for example, using AI to monitor the use of facemasks and experimenting with
blockchain technology to prevent corruption.

For more information on how CCE created the aggregated buying tool, watch its YouTube video.

3.3.3 Return to sustainable buying

End emergency buying as soon as it is reasonable to and return to more sustainable procedures
to help economies recover.

Why it’s important

As a crisis situation stabilizes, it is important to consider if emergency buying procedures are still
justified and, if not, when they will end.

If an emergency has caused a significant shock to the economy, contract adjustments or policy
changes may be necessary to support the recovery and enable sustainable, equitable, inclusive
and competitive buying in the long term.

What it means

As an emergency enters the relief and recovery phase, public officials and stakeholders should:

• phase out direct award procedures and contracts as needs become foreseeable and planning
can resume;

• agree with suppliers if and when any outstanding goods or services are to be delivered;

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