The moment Niger’s procurement reform hit a wall
When Decree No. 2022-743/PRN/PM was signed on 29 September 2022, it was presented as a decisive turning point for public procurement in Niger. By introducing the competitive dialogue procedure, the government promised to streamline public spending, strengthen transparency, and give the state access to the technical expertise needed for major development projects.
Three years on, that turning point has become a dead end. The reform has delivered no tangible results for Niger’s economy, leaving businesses and taxpayers with little more than a well-packaged promise.
A sophisticated procedure that never left the paper
On paper, competitive dialogue looked attractive: it allowed public buyers to sit down with several shortlisted candidates and jointly design the most suitable technical, legal, or financial solutions. In the daily routine of Nigerien administrations, however, the mechanism has remained a dead letter.
- No technical ownership: Without proper training or clear methodological guides for procurement officers, the procedure is widely seen as too complex and cumbersome to handle.
- A retreat into habit: Contracting authorities keep favouring traditional methods or, more worryingly, resort to derogatory procedures without delivering the added value promised by the 2022 text.
- No flagship project delivered: In three years, none of the major infrastructure contracts meant to benefit from this competitive flexibility have produced visible results or measurable efficiency gains for the public treasury.
From rebuilding rhetoric to single-source reality
While the language of “refoundation” and rigorous management dominates official discourse, the persistence of direct award and single-source practices directly contradicts the intentions set out in the 2022 decree.
Instead of creating a climate of fair competition and transparency, the revised legal framework often serves as an administrative showcase to reassure observers, while conditions on the ground remain marked by opacity and a lack of accountability. Local companies, which were supposed to be the first beneficiaries of a more open dialogue with the state, continue to complain about restricted access to major opportunities and slow procedures.
The toll of a legal framework that does not work
After three years of theoretical application, the record of the 29 September 2022 decree highlights the gap between legislative inflation and operational reality:
- No impact on cost reduction: The financial optimisation expected from stronger competition has not materialised in public accounts.
- Illusory transparency: Audits and evaluation reports on the actual use of competitive dialogue remain virtually non-existent.
- A brake on investment: The gap between the texts on the books and their real-world application fosters uncertainty for serious economic partners.
Decree No. 2022-743 has been little more than a legal veneer with no knock-on effect. Tested by time, the introduction of competitive dialogue looks more like a communication exercise than a genuine lever for transforming public procurement in Niger.
