A great present to unwrap for Christmas, MBIE is releasing their Government Procurement Dashboards. We are promised they will be live by Christmas on their website.
The updated dashboards, using up-to-date data, replace the visually indecipherable Excel spreadsheets, making it easier to track agency spending.
This project has been a long time in the making and continues to be a work in progress. We are still keen to see ‘All of Government’ contract spend.
Public organisations and their suppliers generally recognise the value of transparent reporting on the use of public funds. However, some providers remain hesitant to disclose information due to concerns about commercial sensitivity. While there is a need in some instances, to balance transparency with the protection of legitimate commercial interests, when public money is being spent the presumption should fall firmly on the side of openness.
These dashboards combined with the revised Government Procurement Rules are evidence of positive intent and vision of government sector leaders and officials for greater transparency of the use of the public purse. This has been supported by Ministers, and had a push or two from civil society including TINZ.
MBIE staff deserve congratulations.
