Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has highlighted the lack of competitiveness in e-government procurement (e-GP) in Bangladesh, attributing it to widespread collusion among politicians, government officials, and contractors.
The anti-graft watchdog revealed the findings of the study at a press conference held at its Dhanmondi office in Dhaka on Monday.
The findings showed that over 75 per cent of e-tenders are awarded to single bidder, signifying the possibility of collusion, syndicate and political influence within the government procurement process.
The findings came after conducting a research, using big data analytical approach titled ‘e-Government Procurement in Bangladesh: A trend Analysis of Competitiveness (2012-2023).’ The analysis was conducted using open source data from e-GP website.
Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, coordinator of outreach and communication at TIB, in his presentation said when a single company consistently secures a multitude of contracts, it raises a significant concern of compromised competitiveness. The financial value of work orders given through single tender is Tk 60,069 crore, which is 15 per cent of the total purchase price of works and goods executed through e-tendering.
He said that 70 per cent of e-procurement work is done by local contractors, the remaining 30 per cent by non-local contractors. “This situation serves as aclear indicator of restricted competition within public tenders which indicates monopolistic practices and impedes fair competition.”
In Feni and Noakhali districts, half of all contracts are awarded through single-bid procurement process. Cumilla and Narayanganj follow closely with one-third of the contracts. Shariatpur had the lowest percentage of contracts awarded through single-bid procurement process.
Not only in districts but also in city corporations, the prevalence of single-bid procurement process exists. Among all, Chittagong City Corporation has the highest percentage, accounting for 62.7 per cent of its contracts.
Moreover, it was noted that top 5 per cent of contractors have a significant hold, on average, 26 per cent of e-contracts, which indicates increasing their dominance.
TIB’s executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “Capturing the market has become an institutionalised practice within the government procurement system.”
While e-GP has been recognised as a positive government initiative, praised for its cost and time-saving benefits, the primary objective of ensuring competitiveness remains unfulfilled, he added.
Almost 99 per cent of e-procurement contracts have a value of less than Tk 25 crore, the study said.
The main objectives of e-GP were to combat corruption and improve the quality of work done by ensuring transparency in the public procurement process, although e-GP has had a little impact on these
two issues.
TIB also put forward recommendations for optimizing e-GP, include high-value contracts within e-tendering promptly, remove price ceilings in open and limited tender systems to foster fair competition, revamp the limited tender process in accordance with the Public Procurement Act 2006, monitor procurement offices vulnerable to single bidding to prevent collusion, enforce measures to enhance competition across all procurement authorities and CPTUs.
