The government has moved to reassess its electronic procurement platform, with State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Saki MP calling for a simpler, more accessible e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system and wider institutional reforms to improve participation and efficiency.
The directive came at a meeting with officials of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) held at its conference room in Dhaka on Thursday. The state minister attended as chief guest in his capacity as senior vice chairman of the BPPA governing board.
Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division Secretary Shirajun Noor Chowdhury and BPPA CEO S M Moin Uddin Ahmed were also present at the meeting, according to a press release.
A detailed briefing by BPPA outlined ongoing reforms in public procurement, including digitisation of procurement processes, legal and regulatory frameworks, e-GP operations, institutional structure, sustainable public procurement initiatives, progress achieved to date, as well as existing challenges and future plans.
Raising concerns over usability, the state minister said the e-GP system must be made more user-friendly so that all stakeholders can register and participate in procurement activities without unnecessary complexity.
He also directed the BPPA CEO to hold consultations with relevant stakeholders to collect feedback on the authority’s operations, organisational structure and the e-GP platform. The objective, he said, would be to identify requirements for manpower, strengthen capacity building and simplify and expand the digital procurement system.
Training decentralisation emerged as another priority. The state minister instructed that e-GP training programmes be extended to divisional and district levels to enhance the capacity of tenderers and ensure broader participation in public procurement.
Responding to the directives, Moin Uddin Ahmed said a comprehensive stakeholder consultation would be conducted shortly. He added that a consolidated report covering BPPA operations and the e-GP system would be prepared based on feedback and submitted to the government.
He also said BPPA would propose amendments to the Public Procurement Act and Public Procurement Rules to further strengthen the procurement framework
