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Currently, 30 billion US dollars are spent annually on public procurement in Bangladesh. To ensure that there is no waste of this huge expenditure, the government has put stress on proper and timely implementation of various projects. On an average, about 1500 projects are included in the Annual Development Program (ADP) every year. If it is possible to achieve the goals and objectives of these projects, then it will have huge positive impact on the country’s economy.
Md. Mahfuzar Rahman, Director (Joint Secretary), Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) said this as the chief guest at a workshop on BPPA’s functions and exchange of experience on e-GP in Bhola on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Md. Azad Jahan chaired the workshop held at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. The workshop organized by BPPA was managed by of Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP).
Representatives of various procuring entities of the district, bank representatives, tenderers , journalists and BCCP representatives were present at the workshop.
Mahfuzar Rahman said, the current government is emphasizing on reforms and transparency in all areas. One of the reforms in public procurement is the digitization of public procurement or e-GP. Currently, about 65 percent of government procurement is being done through e-GP. We need to increase this to 100 percent.
He said, “Bangladesh’s e-GP system has already received appreciation at home and abroad. So far, 11 countries and 5 international organizations have monitored Bangladesh’s e-GP system and its implementation. e-CMS has been launched in the country through which real-time data on project implementation can be monitored from the office. It is linked to the e-GP system. The tenderers’ payment is being sent to their accounts. In addition, e-audit has been launched. Work is underway to interconnect e-GP with the DVS system to verify the financial statements submitted by bidders online.
Mentioning several positive achievements of e-GP, he said that in 2007, 70 percent of tender notices could be published, which has now increased to 100 percent. In 2007, only 10 percent of work orders were awarded within the initial period of tender validity, which has increased to 96.63 percent. The average number of acceptable tenders against each tender has increased from only 3 to 10.68.
