Direct purchase of consultants still favoured by Sida staff

A Development Today analysis of Swedish aid procurement statistics for 2004 shows that in two-thirds of the largest Sida-financed consultancy contracts, there was no competitive tendering. According to Sida lawyer Stefan Roos, this contradicts the spirit of Sida’s procurement rules, introduced two years ago, which were supposed to increase international competition in Swedish aid-financed procurement Swedish suppliers continued to dominate last year, while foreign companies captured only a small fraction of the Swedish aid market.