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25 July, 2010
The Independent
The planning ministry"s initiative to introduce e-GP (electronic government procurement) is certainly a welcome move. If everything goes according to the plan, the public procurement under the implementation, monitoring and evaluation division (IMED) of the ministry will go online by the end of this year. In all likelihood, it is going to be the first firm step towards e-governance. Whether it will open up the door to a brave new world of digitalisation is however a different question. We say this not because of any fault of the system but because of probable intrigues that might frustrate the move. According to a rough estimate, 70 per cent of information and communication technology introduced in government offices fail to take off, one reason being vested groups in and around would not allow it to work. Efficiency and transparency that come with new technologies leave no room for irregularities and willful holding up of files or documents. This is not to the liking of those groups looking for systemic loopholes to derive narrow gains.
The four target agencies - the Water Development Board (WDB), the Rural Electrification Board (REB), the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) - to introduce the system of online tender bidding in fact cover the major development projects in the country. So if the e-GP gets going, even though initially under a pilot project, in all these sectors of the government, its impact will be very positive for financial management, development and even governance. Then snatching of tender boxes, manipulation of tenders and intimidation to genuine bidders may be a thing of the past.
Sure enough, e-GP has the potential of bringing about a radical transformation of the system of governance by making transparency and accountability an integral part of the process. Admittedly, technology is no substitution for integrity of character. But at least it can easily pinpoint who is to blame and for what. Online access can give them unalloyed information. So it is incumbent on the top functionaries of the government to make it a point that the system work properly and people behind it are not given the slightest pretext to render it useless and inoperative. |
