Call to ensure transparent public procurement
BSS
RAJSHAHI: Transparent and accountable public procurement has become an urgent need for the best uses of the public money together with proper implementation of the uplift programmes, reports BSS.
To this end, wide-ranging promotion of Government Procurement (e-GP) has become an urgent need. The Government of Bangladesh has established a priority to modernise Bangladesh and achieve a shared vision for a Digital Bangladesh by 2021.
As part of its Digital Bangladesh initiative, Bangladesh considers e-Governance to be a vital ingredient in achieving its goal. The observations came at a daylong workshop titled Awareness of e-GP:
Social Awareness and Communication Activities held at Nanking Darbar Hall in the city on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes (BCCP) organised the programme. Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division of Planning Ministry under its Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) supported the workshop.
Main thrust of the workshop was to strengthen awareness about e-GP and facilitate its adoption among the tenderers and government procuring entities.
Tenderers, government procuring entities and media representatives participated in the meeting sharing knowledge and experiences on public key infrastructure.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and Development and ICT) SM Tuhinur Alam opened the event as chief guest. He said the workshop provides a platform for senior level Bangladeshi government officials to discuss challenges they have faced in creating a National e-Government Master Plan with participating experts.
CPTU Director Wahedun Nabi, Superintending Engineer of Rajshahi City Corporation Khairul Bashar, Executive Engineer of BWDB Harunur Rashid, BCCP Programme Coordinator Mamunur Rahman and Training Coordinator Badal Halder spoke as resource persons.
The speakers stated that more than Taka 30,000 crore is spent for the public procurement purposes every year so there is no alternative to make the procurement process translucent. They mentioned that the present government has taken steps to make the tender and procurement process computerized for preventing corruption and different other anomalies in this regard.
The digital system in procurement of goods, works and services with public funds has also widened opportunities in doing business with government as it has removed all kinds of physical hassles, they added. Representatives of media and other stakeholders said in the manual system often they had to report about violence and terrorism over tendering. But now it is done very safely in e-GP system without any trouble.
Similarly, the tenderers said the online system has helped them to get rid of all hassles and piles of paper work.
