State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Thursday exchanged views with the officials of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) about functions and responsibilities of the authority at its conference room at the BPPA Bhaban of the Bangladesh Planning Commission.
The State Minister, also Senior Vice Chairman of the 10-member Governing Board of the BPPA, graced the view-exchange meeting as the chief guest.
The Secretary, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), Ministry of Planning, Shirajun Noor Chowdhury, and the Chief Executive Officer (Secretary) of the BPPA, S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed, were present in the view-exchange meeting, said a press release.
The CEO of the BPPA made a detailed presentation on the issues of public procurement including background of reforms, digitization of public procurement, legal frameworks, electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) operation and progress, organogram and achievements of BPPA, sustainable public procurement (SPP), challenges and future plans of the authority.
The State Minister underscored the need to make the e-GP system more user-friendly so that all stakeholders can register and participate in the procurement process with ease and without unnecessary complexities.
Describing the BPPA as a highly important institution, he directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to arrange consultations with relevant stakeholders to gather their views on the operations of the BPPA, its organizational structure, and various aspects of the e-GP system.
Such consultations, he noted, would enable the government to assess the requirements for manpower, capacity building, simplification of the e-GP platform, and expansion of its coverage.
The State Minister further emphasized the need to decentralize e-GP training programmes to the divisional and district levels to strengthen the capacity of tenderers and facilitate their smooth and effective participation in public procurement.
Responding to the State Minister's directives, the CEO of the BPPA said that a comprehensive stakeholder consultation would be organized shortly.
Based on the outcomes of the consultations, a report covering the overall operations of the BPPA and the e-GP system would be prepared and submitted to the government.
He also informed that the BPPA would submit proposals for necessary amendments to the Public Procurement Act and the Public Procurement Rules to further strengthen the public procurement regime.
Latest News