Citizens can know various aspects of public procurement from the 'Sorakri Kroy Batayan (Citizen Portal)'. Not only the national level data, but also procurement information of all districts of the country is available in this portal. There is an opportunity to take various information about on-going contracts and upcoming procurement, value of contract, contract award, status of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) etc. Locals can play a role in monitoring contract implementation by regularly visiting the Citizen Portal. Through this, it will be possible to increase transparency and accountability in public procurement.

The   speakers   made   such observations in workshops on 'Citizen Engagement in Public Procurement' held at Dinajpur and Khulna districts organized by the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), Ministry of Planning. The two workshops were held on 23 December 2023 at Deputy Commissioner's Conference Room of Dinajpur and on 26 December 2023 at Khulna Circuit House Conference Hall.

The events were organized with facilitation of Dnet, a consulting firm engaged by BPPA in the development and maintenance of the Citizen Portal. BPPA Chief Executive Officer Mr. Md. Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury presided over the workshop held in Dinajpur. IMED Secretary Mr. Abul Kashem Mohiuddin was present as the chief guest.

BPPA Director (Joint Secretary) Mr. Md. Aknur Rahman PhD presided over the workshop at Khulna and IMED Secretary Mr. Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin was present as the chief guest. Divisional Commissioner of Khulna Mr. Md. Helal Mahmud Sharif and Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Mr. Khandkar Yasir Arefin were special guests.

The workshops were organized under the Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP), which is being implemented with the support of the World Bank. Officials of various government procuring entities (PEs), tenderers, business organizations, media and civil society representatives participated in the workshops.

In the events, Mr. Andalib Bin Haque, Data Analytics Expert of Dnet, gave a presentation on citizen engagement in public procurement and the Citizen Portal. Dnet Executive Director and Team Lead M. Shahadat Hossain was also present at the programs.

It was said in the workshops that the allocation in the development budget is increasing every year to achieve the government's development goals and targets. Along with that, the amount of expenditure on public procurement is increasing. Currently, nearly 40 percent of the national budget and 80 percent of the Annual Development Program (ADP) is spent on public procurement. It is important to ensure transparency and accountability in this huge expenditure. Citizen engagement can play an important role in this regard. Therefore, BPPA (formerly Central Procurement Technical Unit-CPTU) has launched a Citizen Portal called 'Sarkari Kroy Batayan' to facilitate citizens' access to related information.

In the chief guest's speech, IMED Secretary Mr. Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin said that currently there are about 1400 projects under ADP across the country. About 80 per cent of these projects are spent on public procurement. If transparency and accountability can be increased in public procurement, there will be no more irregularities. The role of citizens is important in this regard.  The Citizen Portal on public procurement has been launched to provide information to citizens. It is now one of the main sources of public procurement information.

Chief Executive Officer of BPPA Mr. Mohmammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury said that the public procurement is for citizens with their tax money. Every citizen has the right to know how this money is being spent. Gradually, all public procurement information will be published on Citizen Portal, except some confidential and sensitive information. In near future, initiatives will also be taken to take citizens' feedback on public procurement through this portal. As a result, public procurement system of the country would be more transparent and accountable.