The period in-between government will abolish the provision of cancelling tenders with bids 10% elevated or decrease than the estimated worth. The fair is to dismantle syndicates of contractors, politicians and deplorable officers while promoting transparency in public procurement.
This pass moreover seeks to steal competition, invent opportunities for recent bidders and fulfil prerequisites for receiving ongoing funds toughen from the World Bank.
The resolution become made steady via a meeting on “Identifying Barriers and Figuring out Actions for Imposing the Solutions and Guidelines of PPA 2006 and PPR 2008 in the Procurement Process”. The meeting become chaired by Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud.
The meeting become attended by three assorted advisers, secretaries to ministries and departments and chief engineers from key building and engineering entities.
Subhas Chandra Biswas, additional secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluate Division, defined that while assorted transparency measures were mentioned, the considerable focal level become on the rule that resulted in soft cancellations for bids exceeding the ten% margin.
He added that this rule had inspired contractors to constantly swear 10% below the quoted worth, undermining very most attention-grabbing competition.
Iftekharuzzaman, government director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), told The Industry Regular the ten% provision had fuelled corruption in government procurement, and while its elimination become particular, further reforms are major.
He emphasised that e-GP, although launched, is peaceable misused, and total digitalisation in procurement is major.
A TIB study yarn revealed that below the Public Procurement Act 2006, tenders are rejected if the swear worth deviates by 10% from the estimated worth.
Some Roads and Highways Division officers exploited this rule by leaking estimated prices to pick contractors, who then colluded on which institutions would steal half in the soft job. Political leaders and senior officers in most cases suggested bidders to chorus from submitting tenders, it added.
Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman, chief government officer of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), said the meeting suggested conserving an inter-ministerial meeting with stakeholders to relate about further steps on abolishing the ten% provision.
It become moreover decided that PPA 2006 would possibly possibly well well be amended and e-GP guidelines revised, he added.
Rahman said eliminating the ten% provision would possibly possibly well well lead to collusion and abnormally low bids. To contend with this, BPPA has formed a technical working crew to forestall Abnormally Low Bids.
BPPA has been engaged on amending the law since 2021 to contend with limitations in the procurement job. A draft of the amended law become presented to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs but become returned, he added.
The ten% provision had fuelled corruption in government procurement, and while its elimination become particular, further reforms are major.
Rahman added that the Finance Division honest lately made it identified that the World Bank has requested the Bangladesh government to implement assorted coverage reforms in the financial, earnings and public provider sectors as share of the Pattern Protection Credit (DPC) funds toughen.
These reforms consist of abolishing the ten% provision and ending all government purchases via the e-GP system, he added.
BPPA has already organized a stakeholder meeting with 32 organizations to relate about these points and amend the law.
Per the minutes of the meeting, Wahiduddin Mahmud emphasised identifying challenges faced by ministries and departments in enforcing procurement guidelines to make certain that transparency, accountability, very most attention-grabbing therapy and competition.
The finance adviser moreover expressed concerns about corporations with the identical title securing diverse contracts and known as for elevated transparency and competition in procurement.
