| Description |
: |
Participants at a workshop on strengthening awareness and facilitating adoption of electronic government procurement (e-GP) across the government procuring entities and tenderers in Chittagong raised the demand for making all tender documents in the e-GP portal (www.eprocure.gov.bd) primarily readable to all. But those need the documents for business purposes require to follow the formal procedures laid out in the system.
The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) conducted the one-day e-GP Awareness Workshop at the Circuit House auditorium in Chittagong on March 13, 2016. The next day a similar workshop was held at the DC Office Conference room in Cox’s Bazar as part of the CPTU campaign plan to hold such workshops in all 64 districts of the country.
Representatives of the district-level procuring entities, tenderers, media, civil society, NGOs and banks attended the workshops managed and facilitated by the Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programs (BCCP), which is working as the Social Awareness Consultant of CPTU under PPRP-II.
In both the workshops Secretary of the IMED Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Director General of CPTU Md Faruque Hossain, Lead Procurement Specialist Dr Zafrul Islam and Procurement Consultant ANM Mustafizur Rahman of the World Bank were present. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Chittagong Illias Hossain and Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar Md Ali Hossain presided over the workshops respectively.
In Cox’s Bazar, the workshop highlighted the aspect of self-compliance of the e-GP system. The CPTU is implementing e-GP in the country to ensure transparency, accountability and effectiveness in public procurement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the national e-GP portal (www.eprocure.gov.bd) on June 2, 2011. The e-GP Guidelines were issued on January 25, 2011.
In Chittagong workshop, IMED Secretary said, “Generally we are reluctant to accept new technology easily. The e-GP is a full chain of public procurement. Equipping PEs only will not do, the Tenderers also need to be well equipped about the technology.” In Cox’s Bazar workshop, he mentioned that the government has a social responsibility towards the people. From that responsibility it has taken up e-GP to deliver public services effectively and efficiently.
The electronic procurement was first piloted in four target agencies under PPRP-II. These are Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB).
Until March March 21, 2016, a total of 185 agencies under 37 ministries/divisions/agencies are conducting their procurement through e-GP. The number of procuring entities now operating e-GP stood at 2320 and that of registered tenderers is over 20519. About 2000 branches of 40 banks having MoUs with CPTU are now receiving e-GP registration and renewal fees and tender document fees across country. The government has taken up a plan to bring all types of public procurement under e-GP by December 2016. |
