Remove unfair clauses for equal opportunities in public procurement

DHAKA, May 12, 2024 (BSS) – The government should remove the discriminatory tax structure for local companies to ensure a level playing field for all domestic and foreign companies in the public procurement process, speakers said at of a seminar here today.

They made these observations during the seminar titled “Public Procurement Act – Challenges and Opportunities” organized by the Bangladesh International Business Forum at its conference hall in the city.

Speaking as the chief guest, Minister of State for Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarker said the present government had introduced electronic system of public procurement to ensure transparency at the most primary level of public procurement, adds the press release.

E-GP has transformed the public procurement process 180 degrees,” he said, adding that there was still some way to go in terms of transparency and accountability.

The state minister said the country needed people of high moral character to ensure transparency and accountability.

He also pledged to provide all-round support to take into account the recommendations, complaints and requests made during the meeting by the stakeholders.

Speaking as the designated presenter, Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury, CEO of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), said he wants to integrate 100 percent of the country’s public procurement system into the E+ system. -GP.

He said the BPPA had identified procurement challenges and continuously modified it.

Rahman also said they would reduce the three-stage complaint resolution to a single stage to simplify the appeal.

As part of the program, former World Bank Senior Public Procurement Specialist Dr. Zafrul Islam presented a keynote paper titled “Governance and Competitiveness in Public Procurement Practices: Bangladesh Context”.

He said conflict of interest is a major concern in the public procurement process in Bangladesh. “Conflicts of interest arise from possible informal or undisclosed relationships between public officials and the contractor or consulting industry,” he said.

Zafrul Islam said there are cases where civil servants or their family members run companies that participate in the same procurement process within the organization.

He called on the BPPA to consult stakeholders before formulating any laws or rules. IBFB Advisor and former NBR Chairman Muammad Abdul Mazid recommended introducing reforms during the financial year to reduce wastage of resources and time in the implementation of construction projects.

He stressed the need to impose equal tax on local and foreign companies instead of the existing discriminatory tax structure for local companies.

IBFB vice-president MS Siddiqui urged the government to impose uniform tax at all levels, including public imports. He stressed the need to be competitive to maintain the public procurement process in the long term.

Dhaka University economics professor Muhammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiquee urged the authorities to ensure fairness in the work award process.

Advisor to Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI) Engineer SM Khorshed Alam urged the government to abolish the lowest price award clause in the public procurement process .

He said the capacity of the future bidder should be taken into account rather than the amount of the bid.

Rabiul Alam, former president of the Manufacturers’ Association of Transformers and Switchgear (MATS), urged the government to eliminate differences with local companies in the project award process.

IBFB President Humayun Rashid delivered a welcome address at the seminar.