A call for utilizing benefits of Tenderers’ Database in the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system was made at a workshop of Government-Tenderers Forum (GTF) on 25 May 2023 in Pabna.

Mr. Md. Shamimul Haque, Director (Additional Secretary), Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the Ministry of Planning, was present as the chief guest at the workshop held at the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Pabna. Mr. Abdullah Al Mamun, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) presided over the workshop.

Mr. Shamimul Haque urged all concerned to utilize benefits of the Tenderers’ Database added recently to the e-GP system.

The CPTU organized the workshop with the objective of fostering dialogues between procuring entities (PEs) and tenderers on procurement issues and ensuring proper implementation of procurement contracts. 

The workshop was held under Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP) which is being implemented by CPTU with support from the World Bank. It was managed by Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP).

Dr. Zeenat Sultana, Program Director of BCCP, delivered the welcome speech and made a presentation on GTF at the workshop.

Speaking as the chief guest, Mr. Md. Shamimul Haque laid importance on GTF as this would help create a congenial environment for implementation of public procurement in a sustainable way.

About 80 per cent of the country's Annual Development Programme (ADP) is spent on public procurement, he said. Around 65 per cent of the total expenditure on procurement is conducted through e-GP system, he said adding GTF can play a role in ensuring integrity of procurement process.

Mr. Shamimul Haque said that the CPTU has been working sincerely in taking the electronic procurement system ahead and making it time-befitting with inclusion of some major modules like Automated Challan, Electronic Audit, International Competitive Tender, Tenderers’ Database. With this, he said, the system has now become fully digitized.

The CPTU provides all sorts of information required by tenderers round-the-clock as its Help Desk is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Besides, Help Desks in 10 clusters for 28 procuring agencies give replies to queries of tenderers, he added.

Mentioning usefulness of e-GP, he said that public procurement process remained uninterrupted even during the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic as the system was digitized.

He urged tenderers and PEs to remain active and run the GTF by updating it for the better benefit of the country. Terming tenderers the main driving force of e-GP, he expressed the hope that Bangladesh would achieve the target 12.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) by making public procurement system sustainable.

Emphasizing the need for skills development of those concerned about procurement, Mr Shamimul Haque assured all of providing more trainings by CPTU to both tenderers and PEs.

Highlighting effectiveness of the tenderers’ database, he urged all tenderers to register with the e-GP system and provide their information for the database. He said that the day is approaching fast when there will be no scope for tenderers to participate in tender unless they are registered with the system.

Assistant Superintendent of Police in Pabna Ziaur Rahman, Executive Engineer of LGED Anisur Rahman Mondal, Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Department Abul Mansoor Ahmed, Executive Engineer of Department of Public Health Engineering Atiqul Islam, District Education Officer Rostam Ali Halaly, President of Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saiful Alam Swapon Chowdhury, District Primary Education Officer Nikhil Chandra Halder, District Food Officer Hasan Al Naeem, Pabna Press Club President ABM Fazlur Rahman, General Secretary Saikat Afroz Asad, Pabna Sangbadpatra Parishad President Abdul Matin Khan, General Secretary Shahidur Rahman, BSS Correspondent Rafiqul Islam Sweet, Media Specialist of BCCP Golam Shahnee, Jail Super Nasir Uddin Pradhan, Senior Information Officer Md. Samiul Alam, among others, attended the workshop.

Abdullah Al Mamun urged members of GTF to hold at least one meeting of the forum every year as this would create an environment for PEs and tenderers to have interactions. He also suggested for inclusion of journalists in the committee.

The presentation focused on the structure of GTF as this platform creates a scope for PEs and tenderers to exchange views and share issues related to public procurement and thus remove confusions about procurement process. It also highlighted how the Citizen Portal of CPTU can benefit all stakeholders.

More than 75 participants including representatives from PEs, tenderers, bankers, civil society and media attended the workshop.