PPRA redrafting regulatory framework

ISLAMABAD: The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) is said to be redrafting regulatory framework, proposing amendments in PPRA Ordinance and rules to bring transparency through e-procurement in the public sector on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, well informed sources told Business Recorder.

During the latest meeting of PPRA Board, MD (PPRA) Hasnat Qureshi in a presentation on E-Procurement System informed the members that primarily three directives were issued by the Prime Minister.

First one was related to the hiring of World Class HR Expert/ Consultant to enforce international best practices and study model of comparable countries within one month. Direction has been complied with, as international consultant has been engaged with the assistance of World Bank, and consultant has completed the initial review and accordingly his recommendations were presented before the Board.

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The second direction was related to a comprehensive plan for HR, Technological Development, e-PADS, TPV, procurement process, legal and regulatory framework, grievance redressal, etc. He apprised the Board that comprehensive plan along with timelines has been prepared in consultation with international Consultant and stakeholders.

The third direction contained that Tania Aidrus will provide technical support to e-PADS, while she has been engaged with the Abacus team and has been extending technical support in this regard.

MD (PPRA) also shed light on the strengths and weakness of the Authority. The Authority has crafted a vision which stipulates that “to support public sector in achieving fairness, transparency, and value for money through adoption of the best procurement practices and technology as per Prime Minister’s vision”; in order to achieve this vision, three goals have been developed.

Goal one aims for the development of robust procurement framework creating clear and consistent procurement processes in line with international best procurement practices. PPRA in collaboration with World Bank team and international Consultant held consultations with various stakeholders, including provincial PPRAs, Federal PPRA, Board members and Minister for Economic Affairs. Subsequent to these consultative meetings, a review report was presented after reviewing PPRA’s regulatory framework. In consonance with recommendations, regulatory framework is being re-drafted, proposing amendments in PPRA Ordinance and rules, which is in process.

Goal-2 is related to enhancing organisation effectiveness by re-organising and equipping PPRA with competent HR and build capacity of procuring agencies. The Board members were informed that the existing organogram has been reviewed by the international consultant engaged by World Bank and in line with international best practices a revised organogram has been proposed, keeping in view the additional functions to be incorporated.

MD (PPRA) further briefed that re-organisation of PPRA experts/ specialist entails hiring from the open market against the vacant posts or the new positions created with regard to additional functions. Revised organogram has been proposed to avoid the disruption in the promotion channel of the regular employees. He noted that recruitment shall be made against 15 vacant positions of PPRA. In terms of ePADS project, it has been proposed to initiate the induction of 13 technical staff in the e-procurement project. In line with the additional functions proposed for ePADS, it has been proposed to initiate the recruitment process immediately, so that by the December 2024 these technical officers should be on board to take over the system from M/s Abacus. One of the Board members said that since the e-procurement project is no more a project, but it has become an integral part of the Authority; therefore, it should not be headed by a Project Director instead by the regular officer of the Authority.

MD (PPRA) further briefed the board that establishment of procurement cell can be enforced within procuring agencies either through Prime Minister’s directives or through notification issued by the Authority. The consultant has proposed that Evaluation Committee and Procurement (oversight) Committee should complement the procurement cell/ unit. Authority has also proposed the functions of the procurement cells/unit to bring clarity and uniformity in its composition. For creation of pool of procurement experts to be engaged in the procurement cells, certification programs are being launched by PPRA. To begin with MoU has been signed with NUST, to start a four-month diploma course in Procurement Certification and Contract Management. One of the board members proposed to maintain cadre of procurement specialist within Ministries/ Divisions and even if these specialists are transferred, they will be appointed in the procurement cell of others Ministry/ Division.

The MD also shared details of other certification programs of various duration to be initiated in near future in top educational institutions like IBA, LUMS & NUST, as well as, At PPRA,

Sheikh Afzaal, ED (PMU), briefed the board about the progress of ePADS project and stated that User Acceptance Test of remaining modules has been completed and observations are conveyed to the Service Provider to accordingly remove the anomalies from the system. To the extent of system integration, deliberations are under process with NADRA and State Bank of Pakistan and it is expected that by mid November, 2024 system integration will be completed. Also training for master trainers is being conducted and approximately 125 officers of various Ministries/Divisions have completed Master Trainer Program. Letters are dispatched to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments to convey the timelines for ePADS adoption.

Naveed Hussain, ED Abacus Consulting, briefed the board about the ePADS dashboard. He informed that currently the data of Federal and Punjab governments is available on the system whereas data of other provinces will be added as soon as it is made available. One of the board members observed that colour scheme of various procurement categories; i.e., Goods, Works and Services are required to be distinguished. Board members also observed that name of the suppliers/ contractors are written in inappropriate manner; i.e., without spacing or with lower/upper case letters and this should be rectified. Board members also observed anomalies in the list of sub-departments as one of the Punjab Government department was listed under federal government department list. One of the board members also highlighted the incongruity in the category of non-consulting services which indicated procurement volume of Rs. 3.1 trillion, while works category indicated the budget share of Rs. 234 billion only, which could not be true, as Government of Pakistan spends large portion of funds on works projects. PPRA board showed its dissatisfaction with the dashboard and advised to rectify the same including data cleansing.

Chairman Board informed the members that Prime Minister Office intends to make it e-submission mandatory for all procuring agencies. One of the members responded that the system should only be made mandatory after validating its readiness. WAPDA involves quite complex nature of procurements, and following this the board member will be able to comment whether ePADS should be made mandatory or otherwise. The Chairman of the PPRA Board recommended initiating e-submission as soon as possible. In response, the MD (PPRA) emphasized that the Authority must first ensure that the system can handle the required load before launching the e-submission process.

MD (PPRA) will bring the case of new recruitment for vacant posts of PPRA and EPADS project in the next board meeting, containing detailed job descriptions, eligibility criteria and recruitment process for the consideration of the Board. It was decided that PPRA may consider creation of procurement cadre within Ministries/Divisions in order to ensure continuity.

Chairman PPRA Board/ Secretary Finance, Imdad Ullah Bosal, directed the Service provider (M/s Abacus) to rectify all the deficiencies identified in the dashboard and preset the same in the next board meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024