Consultants' hiring: PC and Transparency International Pakistan at Loggerheads

The Privatisation Commission (PC) and the Transparency International Pakistan are at loggerheads over the appointment/hiring of Financial Advisers/Consultants by the PC.
Whereas the Transparency International Pakistan insists that the pre-qualification for the appointment of Financial Advisers/Consultants by the PC was in violation of Public Procurement Rules 2004, PC's version is that the hiring of Financial Advisers is done in a transparent manner in accordance with the provisions of Privatisation Commission (Hiring of Financial Advisers) Regulations 2007.
"The subject rules have been framed under the powers conferred vide section 41 of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000." However, at the same time the PC has assured that "in future all such advertisements shall also be placed on Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's (PPRA's) website.
But the position taken by the Transparency International Pakistan is totally different. Transparency International Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani, in his letter sent on October 9 to the Secretary, Ministry of Privatisation, Government of Pakistan, (Privatisation Commission), has pointed out that according to PPR - 2004, notified under the PPRA Ordinance 2002, contract for the supply, works and consultants are to be awarded only to the lowest responsive evaluated bidder and the system of scores awarded to bidders has been forbidden., eg technical scores to be weighed 80 percent and financial quotation to weigh only 20 percent.
"As has been practised by you under your own regulations of 2007," Adil Gilani said in his letter and further asserted that "this method is dictionary and therefore not allowed under PPRA Rules."
He insisted that PPRA ordinance, overrides Privatisation Ordinance No: LII of 2000, as for the procurement of services also. PPRA had been established for regulating public procurement of goods, services and works in the public sector, he said. The notification SRO 63 (1)/2007 for hiring of Financial Advisers under Privatisation Ordinance is against the provisions of PPRA 2002 as the PC has no authority to make procurement rules after June 9, 2004, the date of notification of PPR - 2004.
The TIP chairman in his letter highlighted the fact that on April 3, 2005, the Transparency International Pakistan had written a similar letter to M. Mansoor Zubair, Director General (I & T), Ministry of Privatisation on the appointment of Financial Adviser when the Expression of Interest for Pre-qualification was advertised on April 1, 2005.
It had informed the Secretary, Ministry of Privatisation that the PC has to follow PPR -2004, which specifically gives following procedure under rule 36(b) for selection of consultants "after the evaluation and approval of the technical proposal the procuring agency, shall at a time within the bid validity period, publicly open the financial proposals of the technically accepted bids only. The financial proposal of bids found technically non-responsive shall be returned un-opened to the respective bidders; and the bid found to be the lowest evaluated bid shall be accepted."
He has also highlighted that the regulation made by the PC in contravention of the provisions of PPR - 2004 under SRO 63 (1)/2007 for the hiring of Financial Advisers appears to be an effort to bypass PPRA Ordinance 2002, after TIP objected on PC procedures for the appointment of Financial Adviser in 2005.
Rule of Law shall be supreme in Pakistan. The ultimate goal of PPR -2004 is to make corruption "high risk" and "low return" undertaking. Transparency International Pakistan has again requested the PC to note and act on SRO 432 (1)/2004 of June 8, 2004, notifying "Public Procurement Rules - 2004, under which the provisions of these rules shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other rules concerning public procurement."
The PPRA had also written a letter to the Secretary, Privatisation Commission, requesting a comprehensive report and comments on the violation of PPR - 2004 - pre-qualification for the appointment of consultants to be sent to the Authority. The information was called by PPRA under the powers vested in the Authority under section 5(2)(i) of PPRA Ordinance 2002.