Staff Reporter
The government, under a broad-based reform programme, is carrying out a number of core tasks to make the public procurement system in Bangladesh well-functioning, transparent and accountable, according to official sources.
Procurement or purchase of goods, works and services by any procuring entity (PE) using public funds is called public procurement.
The main thrust of the reforms is to make all concerned comply with the Public Procurement Act-2006 and the Public Procurement Rules-2008.
The law and rules have removed earlier inconsistencies and different approaches towards the process of public procurement in the country.
Now all government procuring entities have to follow unified standard tender documents for procurement and abide by the law and rules.
As part of the Public Procurement Reform Project-II, the government has taken up a plan to introduce, in phases, e-Government Procurement (e-GP) to modernize its procurement management and make the process of government purchase free from any influence or physical obstruction
Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith has already iterated a plan of the present government to go online for government purchase in line with its vision for a digital Bangladesh by 2021.
According to a study of the World Bank of 2002, the total value of country’s public procurement amounts to more than $3.0 billion a year. Both the volume and the value of such expenditures are expected to increase manifold in the coming years as the country is undergoing more development activities, sources said.
More than 80 per cent of the annual development expenditures are spent for the government purchase in the forms of goods, works and services, according to official statistics. With the financial assistance of the World Bank, the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division under the Planning of Ministry has started the primary work to implement e-GP under the Public Procurement Reforms Project (PPRP -II).
The CPTU monitors and implements the law and rules in public procurement. All government procuring entities having procurement of taka one crore or above per bid have to send all relevant information on it to CPTU website.
If CPTU finds any discrepancy or non-compliance with law and rules, it will bring it to the notice of the highest authorities of the concerned department or agency.
When asked Director General of the CPTU Amulya Kumar Debnath told this correspondent that the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and Rural Electrification Board (REB) are the four target agencies under the PPRP-II. The e-GP will be introduced in 12 to 16 procuring entities under these four agencies first on a pilot basis.
The single end-to-end e-GP solution is one of the four components of the PPRP-II. He said after the launch of the e-GP all procurement related information will be delivered via a comprehensive integrated platform and e-GP portal. All stakeholders can have equal access to information, opportunities and participation in the procurement processes in e-GP, he added.
The other components of reform programme include furthering policy reform and institutionalizing capacity development; strengthening procurement management at the sectoral level; and communication, behavioral change, and social accountability.
As part of capacity building and institutionalising procurement system in compliance with the Public Procurement Act (PPA)-2006 and the Public Procurement Rules (PPR)-2008, four training courses spanning three weeks each have already been completed. A total of 108 such courses will be held covering over 10 thousand officials. The fifth course is now going on at the Engineering Staff College, Bangladesh at Bausia in Munshiganj district.
A comprehensive social awareness campaign and communication programme on public procurement reforms, law and rules, and social accountability is also underway.
The CPTU DG said the PPA and the PPR have paved the way for making the public procurement system accountable and transparent. He said there should not be any misconception about the law and rules. These will not cause any delay or inconvenience in the process of procurement, rather these are a safeguard for ensuring fair competition and quality purchase with government funds. He urged all government procuring entities, bidding community, suppliers, consultants and others concerned to comply with the PPA and PPR.
Debnath said PPR no longer stands for Public Procurement Regulations. The Public Procurement Rules-2008 is now in force. The Public Procurement Regulations-2003 has been declared void as soon as the Public Procurement Act 2006 was enacted as the law. Under the law, rules have been framed and put into force since January 31, 2008.
“Since this is the public money, its full and proper utilisation as per law and rules will help us accelerate the pace of ADP by implementing the development projects in time,” Debnath said, adding the CPTU is going to launch an integrated and comprehensive campaign to generate support of all concerned in favour of law, rules and reform activities in public procurement.
This campaign aims at involving civil society, media and other stakeholders in the procurement process to raise awareness in the society. By ensuring social accountability and third party monitoring an environment can be created which ultimately will help ensure a well-functioning public procurement system in Bangladesh, said a communication expert associated with the initiative.
e-GP will greatly enhance the monitoring and evaluation framework of a large volume of government expenditure each year and will increase efficiency of the government’s procurement administration as well as reduce the cost of supplies.
e-GP also provides comprehensive management information and reporting system as prescribed in the PPR-2008.
The CPTU DG said under the IT Act, the use of e-signature has been recognized.
Experience in e-GP in many countries shows that these factors combined can produce savings of up to 15 per cent or even more, said an expert working at the CPTU.
More than 50 governments around the world are already using e-GP in one way or other forms.
e-GP refers to the many applications of online web-based information technologies to strengthen all aspects of public procurement including for civil works, goods and services.
The government recognizes the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a key enabler in its economic development and improving the quality of life.
Accordingly, the government devised an IT Act 2006 and as well pioneered in preparing an e-Government Vision. e-GP is one of the major initiatives under this vision.
Under the system, the entire public procurement activity undertaken by the government shall be channelled through the e-GP infrastructure in a phased manner, the expert said. Efficiency in handling public procurement by the government organizations shall be enhanced through process evolutionary automation and transformation, he said, adding the system shall enable the government to maintain a clear picture of its procurement activities on a real-time basis.
By engaging in e-GP, the government catalyzes the supplier community to participate in government procurement opportunities.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
