Consulting firms for advisory support to ministries: Ministry to seek cabinet’s approval for hiring

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives has decided to seek approval from the federal cabinet for hiring consulting firms to provide advisory support to the federal ministries.

Sources said that the prime minister has recently presided over a meeting presided regarding “Augmenting Talent in Federal Ministries” and directed that the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) to select a pool of top-rated consultancy firms for making them available for the federal government’s ministries.

Subsequently, a special session of the Executive Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was presided over by the Ministry of Planning and Developed dated 18th April 2024, wherein, it was decided that a special programme for engaging top consulting firms would be launched (through a special procurement process), which will be considered and managed by the P3A.

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The said programme, as per the SIFC’s directives, shall focus on; advisory support from the top-level consulting firms engaged through P3A programme shall be available to any ministry of the federal government as well as the Board of Investment, the SIFC and P3A. The programme will be in place for a period of five years from the date of the approval by the federal government. Additionally, the SIFC Executive Committee also directed that the matter regarding the special procurement process be forwarded for approval of the PPRA and the Federal Cabinet, which shall be granted for the entire programme rather than individual contracts.

The ministry said in the proposal that in compliance with the directives of the SIFC Executive Committee, the matter was forwarded to PPRA for necessary action, however, the PPRA management (Director General and Legal) opined that the matter may be placed before SIFC and recommended to the federal government that the exemption may be granted from the applicability of Public Procurement Regulatory Framework for the special programme for hiring of top consulting firms (leading to execution of agreements with such consulting firms).

The Ministry of Planning further stated that subsequently, the matter concerning the special programme was deliberated by the SIFC Executive Committee during Its 9th meeting held on 24th April 2024 and it was decided that the SIFC shall in the national interest, recommend to the federal government that an exemption be granted for the special procurement process for the 5-year programme for “Hiring Top Quality Consultants” from the applicable legal framework under the PPRA Ordinance 2002.

The ministry has decided to seek cabinet approval for the special procurement process for the programme for engagement of top consulting firms as well an exemption of the procurement of the consulting firms pursuant to the programme from the operation of the PPRA Ordinance and the rules and regulation thereunder, as recommended by the SIFC Executive Committee in its meeting held on 24th April 2024.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024