Stress on transparency in public procurement

Speakers at an e-GP (electronic government procurement) workshop in Moulvibazar underscored the need for ensuring transparency in public procurement aiming at making country’s development sustainable.

Mentioning that e-GP was implemented for creating a level playing field for all tenderers especially to allow new tenderers to participate in tendering process through digitizing overall procurement ecosystem, some tenderers and civil society members as well as procuring entity representatives pointed out some challenges that small tenderers are still facing in getting works.

The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) under the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning organized the workshop at the conference room of the office of Deputy Commissioner in the district recently. 

Under CPTU’s Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPP) funded by the World Bank, the workshop was organized with the support of Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP).

Md. Shamimul Haque, Director (Joint Secretary), CPTU, IMED, Ministry of Planning spoke as the chief guest at the workshop chaired by Mir Nahid Ahsan, Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate, Moulvibazar. 

Additional Deputy Commissioner Hasan Muhammad NASER Rikabdar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Moulvibazar District Council Khodela Khatun spoke as special guests.

The workshop was moderated by Md. Abdus Salam, Program Manager, BCCP while Communication and Media Specialist of BCCP delivered welcome address and made a presentation on e-GP.

Stressing on the need for proper utilization of various methods incorporated by CPTU within the eGP system for ensuring complete digitization, Md. Shamimul Haque said this will ensure appropriate use of public money and accelerate country’s sustainable development.

Responding to various queries of tenderers and others, he assured that the government is working to overcome the challenges through incorporating the recommendations of all stakeholders to make e-GP more effective.

Over 80 participants including representatives of Procuring Entities (PEs) and tenderers, civil society members and journalists attended the workshop.