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The government should remove discriminatory tax structures for local companies to ensure a level playing field for all domestic and foreign firms in the public procurement process, said speakers at a seminar on Sunday.
They came up with the observations at the seminar titled “Public Procurement Act-Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh in Dhaka city.
Speaking as chief guest, State Minister for Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarker said the current government has introduced electronic government procurement to ensure transparency at the very primary level.
“e-GP has changed the procurement process 180 degrees,” he said, adding that there are more ways for improvement in terms of transparency and accountability.
The state minister said the country requires people of high morals to ensure transparency and accountability.
He also pledged to extend all-out support in taking cognizance of the recommendations, complaints and demands raised by stakeholders during the meeting.
Speaking as a designated discussant, Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury said they want to transition the country's entire procurement system into the e-GP system.
He said BPPA has been identifying challenges of procurement and amending them continually.
Mr Rahman also said they will bring the existing three-step complaint resolution down to one step to make redressing simpler.
In the programme, former Lead Procurement Specialist of World Bank Dr Zafrul Islam presented a keynote paper titled ‘Governance and Competitiveness in Public Procurement Practices: Bangladesh Context’.
He said the conflict of interest (COI) is a major concern in procurement processing in Bangladesh.
“COI arises out of possible informal or undisclosed relationships between public officials and the contracting or consulting industry,” he said.
Mr Islam said there are instances of public officials or their family members operating businesses that participate in the same procurement process within the organisation.
He called on the BPPA to consult with stakeholders before formulating any laws or rules.
Adviser to IBFB and former NBR Chairman Muammad Abdul Mazid recommended bringing reforms in the financial year to reduce waste of resources and time in implementing the construction projects.
He stressed the need for imposing equal tax on local and foreign companies instead of maintaining the discriminatory tax structure against local firms.
Vice President of IBFB MS Siddiqui urged the government to impose a uniform tax system at all levels, including public imports.
He underscored the need of competitiveness to sustain in the long run in the procurement process.
An economics professor at Dhaka University, Muhammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiquee urged the authorities to ensure equity in the awarding process of the work.
Advisor to Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI) Engineer SM Khorshed Alam called on the government to abolish the clause of awarding the lowest bidder in the public procurement process.
He said the capacity of the prospective awardee of the procurement should be considered instead of the amount of bid.
Former President of the Manufacturers Association for Transformer and Switchgear (MATS) Engineer Rabiul Alam urged the government to remove discrepancies against local companies in the project award process.
IBFB President Humayun Rashid delivered a welcome address at the seminar.