TA-9994 REG: Supporting Public Sector Management Reforms - 003 Procurement Specialist (Regional) (54060-001)

With financing support from:

PURPOSE

This webpage is a central hub for materials generated under this ADB TA.

The Scope of Work to be completed include:

  1. Review all relevant laws, policies, manuals, and templates to inform a diagnostic assessment of the Cook Islands Government (CIG) procurement system.

  2. Deliver a diagnostic assessment with practical recommendations to strengthen controls and improve procurement quality across government.

  3. Draft targeted amendments to existing procurement regulations, with emphasis on embedding sustainable procurement provisions.

  4. Prepare aligned procurement policies and guidance to reflect any revised regulations and the overall framework.

  5. Engage key stakeholders—MFEM/MPPS, line ministries, oversight bodies, and suppliers—to ensure Cook Islands context and needs are captured.

  6. Consider requirements for core procurement practice, e-procurement, sustainable procurement, and contract management in the reform design.

Mission Workplan

Deliverable 1: Diagnostic Assessment

This report presents the results of a diagnostic assessment of the public procurement system of the Cook Islands. The diagnostic was guided by a methodology based on the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS), adapted for the context of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The current version is a working draft for review and validation by the Government of the Cook Islands and the Asian Development Bank. It is intended to support structured discussions with the MFEM/MPPS Division, line ministries, and other key stakeholders.

Following this validation process, the report will provide the basis to prioritize reform areas and develop a sequenced implementation roadmap that reflects Cook Islands’ institutional context, reform ambitions, and available resources.

Diagnostic Assessment (full copy)
Summary Presentation

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The diagnostic highlights an “implementation gap”: modern policies exist but are not consistently applied.

    • No legal anchor: PSGS 2024 is policy, not law, leaving rules open to reversal or non-compliance.

    • Limited enforcement: CPU’s oversight mandate is constrained, and APPs are not reliably aligned with FMIS.

    • Capacity bottlenecks: Procurement is often treated as administration, with no professional career path.

    • Accountability systems idle: Appeals and debarment mechanisms are not yet operational.

    • Market constraints: Small supplier base and reliance on imports limit competition and resilience.

  • Procurement is critical to resilience in the Cook Islands.

    • Economic dependence: Tourism and imports (fuel, food, medicine, construction materials) dominate the economy. Global disruptions directly raise procurement costs.

    • Climate exposure: Cyclones and sea-level rise can cause damages equivalent to 30–40% of GDP in a single event.

    • Fiscal pressure: High disaster recovery costs, combined with declining grants, mean public procurement must deliver more with fewer resources.

    • Resilience role: Procurement decisions (e.g. infrastructure standards, supplier choices) directly affect climate resilience and the ability to access climate finance.

  • Cook Islands is at an intermediate stage of reform.

    • Ahead in digitalisation: Among the first SIDS to adopt e-GP (In-tend, 2017).

    • Behind in legal framework: No standalone Procurement Act, unlike Tuvalu (2013, 2021 amendments) or Fiji (2024).

    • Strength in policy innovation: PSGS 2024 includes advanced concepts (value for money, life-cycle costing, sustainable procurement), but without legal backing they remain optional.

    • Regional peers (Fiji, PNG) show stronger central institutions and integrated sustainability, which Cook Islands could adapt in its own way.

    • Appeals/debarment systems: Defined in PSGS, but not yet operational.

    • Audit follow-up: Reports are delayed and compliance uncertain.

    • e-GP data: Award notices not consistently published; transparency incomplete.

    • Integrity safeguards: No whistle-blower protection, and conflict-of-interest rules are hard to enforce in a small society.
      These gaps erode bidder confidence and limit public trust.

  • The diagnostic suggests co-developing:

    • Clearer CPU authority to issue and enforce standard tools.

    • Read-only CPU access to FMIS to monitor APPs and budget execution.

    • Activation of appeals and debarment mechanisms.

    • Greater publication of e-GP data.

    • Introducing integrity tools (standstill period, whistle-blower protection, beneficial ownership).

    These steps would build fairness, confidence, and discipline without overburdening limited capacity.

    • Develop a National Procurement Competency Program for training and accreditation.

    • Create a cadre of “procurement champions” across ministries to lead reforms.

    • Update the Procurement Manual and tools for consistency.

    • Promote regional peer exchange (e.g. with Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa) to share costs and avoid isolation

    Professionalisation is key to shifting procurement from clerical function to strategic role.

    • Framework agreements for high-volume goods and essential services.

    • Expanded e-GP modules linked to FMIS for greater efficiency.

    • Embedding SPP in law and guidance to leverage climate finance.

    • Market engagement to strengthen domestic preference and supplier confidence.

    These reforms would position procurement as a driver of fiscal discipline, resilience, and sustainable growth.

FAQs from Stakeholder Consultation Briefings

Draft reform options are open for consultation. These answers summarise how the findings translate into Cook Islands choices. They are inputs for discussion, not final positions.

  • Cook Islands’ procurement system is one of the most important enablers for accessing and managing international climate finance. Climate funds such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund, and development banks require confidence that public funds will be used transparently, fairly, and to build durable assets.

    The diagnostic highlights several gaps: the appeals and debarment systems remain dormant, award data on e-GP is incomplete, and there is no explicit link between TVP climate screening and tender design.

    By activating complaints and debarment procedures, introducing a short standstill period, requiring ex post publication for emergency contracts, and embedding climate-risk assessment into tender templates, Cook Islands can strengthen fiduciary confidence. These changes show funders that procurement rules are not only modern on paper but operational in practice—building assurance that climate investments will be delivered with integrity and resilience.

  • PSGS 2024 provides clear standards, but compliance varies across ministries, partly because CPU lacks strong enforcement powers and line ministries often adapt rules to their own needs. The challenge is to raise compliance without stalling ministry autonomy.

    The most pragmatic approach is twofold: (1) make compliance simple by updating the Procurement Manual and templates, offering a CPU “helpdesk,” and standardising APP formats; and (2) strengthen oversight by giving CPU read-only access to FMIS to reconcile APPs with expenditure, and authority to require corrective action in serious breaches.

    This model mirrors Fiji’s balance between authority and support: CPU becomes both a regulator and service provider, creating an environment where compliance is the path of least resistance

  • SOEs are significant players in Cook Islands’ economy, but their governance varies. Some provide monopoly utilities (electricity, water, telecoms), others operate with commercial goals. The question is whether PSGS should apply to all SOEs, or whether a tailored approach is more appropriate.

    International models differ. In Singapore and New Zealand, commercial SOEs enjoy procurement autonomy, while in PNG and Tonga, SOEs are bound by public procurement law for transparency. The EU applies a flexible “utilities directive” to sectors like energy and transport, acknowledging their market conditions.

    For Cook Islands, a hybrid approach makes sense: SOEs heavily funded by government budgets or delivering core services should comply fully with PSGS, while commercial SOEs in competitive markets could apply only the core principles (fairness, competition, disclosure) with procedural flexibility. A mapping exercise is needed to define SOEs by funding source, market structure, and risk.

  • Procurement expertise in the Cook Islands is thin and dispersed across ministries. Officers often work in isolation, leading to uneven interpretation of rules and lost opportunities for peer learning.

    A Community of Practice (CoP) would bring together procurement officers regularly under CPU facilitation. Its purpose:

    • Harmonise how PSGS is interpreted and applied.

    • Provide a peer forum for problem-solving (“Has anyone piloted life-cycle costing?”).

    • Test new initiatives such as framework agreements, climate-risk screening, or structured debriefs.

    • Give CPU a feedback loop to refine templates and manuals based on real-world use.

    International experience shows CoPs are a low-cost way to professionalise procurement. For Cook Islands, a small champions’ group—one officer per ministry—meeting quarterly would be a fast, practical step.

  • Procurement data is the foundation of performance monitoring, but Cook Islands is not ready to leap to full KPI dashboards. The diagnostic recommends a phased approach:

    • Manual reporting (now): Ministries submit three simple KPIs quarterly: % of APPs submitted on time, average time from tender to award, and average number of bidders per tender. CPU publishes an annual compliance summary.

    • Automated reporting (future): Once In-tend is linked with SmartStream (FMIS), KPIs can be system-generated at every stage—reducing burden and ensuring timeliness.

    This staged model avoids overwhelming ministries, while building the culture of evidence-based decision-making and preparing the ground for a more sophisticated e-GP reporting framework

  • Pilots allow Cook Islands to demonstrate progress, refine reforms, and build confidence before scaling. Recommended early pilots include:

    • Integrity: Introduce standstill and structured debriefs in 1–2 high-value tenders.

    • Data: Give CPU read-only access to FMIS and reconcile APPs with spend in two ministries.

    • Strategic sourcing: Launch a cross-ministry framework agreement for a stable, high-spend category.

    • Resilience: Apply TVP climate-screening outputs directly into specs and use quality-and-cost scoring in one infrastructure tender.

    These targeted pilots address the real implementation gap: moving from paper reforms to operational practice, with early wins that demonstrate tangible change.

  • Emergencies and outer-island contexts place unique demands on procurement. The PSGS rightly clarifies that poor planning is not an emergency, but further rules are needed to ensure accountability and resilience.

    For emergencies, every award should be accompanied by a short justification note and published ex post within 10 working days. This balances speed with transparency. For Pa Enua, pre-positioning framework agreements for critical goods and logistics provides a transparent mechanism to secure rapid supply in remote contexts.

    These measures prevent misuse of “emergency” provisions while ensuring islands beyond Rarotonga are not disadvantaged during crises or supply disruptions.