The electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) is being a fully automatic system, has become very popular among tenderers and procuring entities as this is hassle-free and user-friendly. As a result, 65 per cent of total public procurement is now being done through e-GP. The rest will be included as well.
“There is no alternative to e-GP to prevent corruption in government procurement. The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) under the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED is working to ensure transparency and accountability in this regard,” IMED Secretary Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin said on Monday.
The secretary made the disclosure at a workshop organised by the CPTU under the Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP) supported by the World Bank for the members of Development Journalist’s Forum of Bangladesh (DJFB) at CPTU conference room of the IMED in the capital.
As the chief guest there, Mohiuddin said this at an orientation programme on public procurement and e-GP. The government has made various reforms in the public procurement system and further reforms through amendment to procurement laws are under process.
Mentioning major reforms in public procurement in the recent past, IMED secretary said, Electronic Project Management Information System (e-PMIS) has been developed where details of all projects, including the first one of the country are open to all.
Director General of CPTU Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury presided over the function while Laboni Chakma, Director of CPTU moderated the programme, and Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) facilitated it.
Shoheler said several significant modules have been added recently to make e-GP more functional. As a result, the entire process starting from procurement planning to contract implementation management can now be done online.
The new modules include tenderer's database, A-challan, direct procurement method (DPM), international tender module, electronic contract management system (e-CMS), electronic audit (e-audit) and e-GP’s integration with National Identity Card (NID) and iBASS++.
“e-GP has ensured public procurement fully flawless as there is no scope for irregularities in this system,” he said urging all procuring entities to conduct their procurement through this system.
Details of all procurement have been made public through Citizen Portal to make public procurement accountable and transparent, he added.
Masud Akter Khan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, who is also a National Procurement Trainer, made the keynote presentation on the overview of public procurement and electronic government procurement (e-GP) for the journalists.
DJFB President Hamid Uz Zaman spoke at the orientation programme. A total of 33 journalists from various media houses attended it.
