Cheating the public
Where does all the money go? Photo: Iqbal Ahmed/ drik news
IN our society, "university" communicates quicker than the biswabidyalay. The fault isn't with the Bengali word, but because of how we use words. Similarly, "tender" and "contractor" are more familiar than dorpatra and dordata. They revolve around the public procurement or government purchase process. Public procurement has been much talked-about since the present government took over. Whenever a new government takes over, certain quarters tamper or grab government contracts for goods, services or works. Their attempts to violate relevant procurement acts and rules often tell upon the government's sincerity to establish discipline in the public sector finance. Our government has already warned these tender manipulators, and declared zero tolerance for any disturbance or obstruction to the public procurement process, as per the provisions of the act and rules. The Public Procurement Act, 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules, 2008 came into force on January 31, 2008. The government amended both the PPA and the PPR in 2009 to accelerate implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP). About 80 percent of the ADP allocations are spent on public procurement. Public procurement improves infrastructure facilities, generates employment and resources through investment in different public sector projects. Better value for money can be achieved by ensuring purchase quality, and good contract management and administration. Government entities use public funds for public procurement. These funds are mobilised through taxes. Loans from development partners finance public expenditures. The public bears the interest on the government's loans. So, public fund usage at the right time, price, place, and in the right quantity quality is a sine qua non for it. Should the public be aware of public procurement? Mainly, government procurement officials and private contractors are involved in it to benefit people. Therefore, people are a major stakeholder. Since the media and civil society work for upholding the public interest and rights, they also have a stake in its process. For instance, a piece of cultivable land in a rural area is rendered fallow due to waterlogging. Its inhabitants had suffered for years and their poverty worsen because they cannot produce rice, despite having some cultivable land. If a culvert is built there, and water-flow controlled as needed, the problem can be greatly resolved. Now, who will build that culvert? How and when? What about the spending and quality of this piece of public service? Local people can inform the local union parishad of their problem, and the UP can place it before the upazilla parishad. If decided there, the Local Government and Engineering Department's (LGED) upazilla office may be tasked to build it. The LGED will do necessary groundwork for it and appoint a contractor. The contractor will implement the project as per the contract's conditions and schedule. However, hundreds of such bridges and culverts are left half-done. Some are damaged within a short time into their construction. Even roads are damaged, some in months into their repair. What goes wrong? If public procurement is divided into two major phases, the first includes its plan, preparation, budget and contract signing, and the second deals with contract administration or management. Such issues should be mentioned in the contract. Any malfunction can be attributed to lapses in monitoring the contract execution by the concerned procuring entity and the contractor. The people have the right to know why and seek redress for it. They can raise their voice when they know of their rights. Therefore, public procurement issues are closely linked to their everyday life and business. This is why raising awareness about the procurement process and its outcomes at the grassroots level is important. Nevertheless, sensitivity cannot be overruled here. Development works are done all year. Vested quarters, in the name of exerting their rights, often resort to extortion from contractors. The contractors try to make it up at the cost of their work's quality. So, extra caution and accountability need to be maintained. Since procuring officials and contractors are directly involved, they are responsible for delays and breach of conditions in completing the task, as per its agreed-upon design and quality. Timely preparing a proper procurement plan and releasing funds, preparing documents, awarding the contract and implementing should be considered. Procuring entities and contractors should have appropriate skills and knowledge about the procurement rules' provisions. The mass media, specifically dailies, often publish news on tender or procurement issues. Media members involved in filing newspaper reports and editing should also have some idea about the nitty-gritty of public procurement. Any deviation or misinterpretation creates confusion. After all, establishing a well-functioning public procurement system requires enhanced awareness by procuring officials, contractors, media, civil society and the public. The essence of public procurement is to ensure efficiency, transparency, fair competition and equal treatment for all. Ensuring better value for public money and its right use brook no delay for establishing good governance in a country with scarce resources but unlimited want. Just as with previous government, the present one is worried about the slow pace of ADP implementation. The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division has already identified reasons for this and submitted to the government recommendations to overcome its limitations. Apart from taking different initiatives to gear up, the government has also amended the PPA and the PPR for accelerating the ADP implementation. The necessity lies in enabling an environment where procuring officials can work by the rules without any fear or interference, and contractors do not face harassment in or undue obstruction to their activities. Shafiul Alam is a communication specialist. Email: cptusaw@cptu.gov.bd.
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