Prospects and challenges of e-procurement in government purchases: a study on e-procurement in LGED, Narayanganj District

Abstract

Procurement is the acquisition of goods, services or works from an outside external source and performance of Services by any contractual means. Public procurement means procurement using public funds. Public sector organizations acquire goods, services and works from third parties. The system or process of public procurement in Bangladesh has been evolved, modified and developed over time. Under the primary legislation PPA 2006, the Public Procurement Rules 2008 was framed and issued, which replaced the Public Procurement Regulations 2003 of purchasing, hiring or obtaining of goods, works or services by any contractual means. Corruption and poor governance are impeding Bangladesh's efforts to reduce its massive poverty by reducing economic growth and lowering the achievement of social objectives. Electronic procurement makes public contracting more accessible, more secure and more efficient. Through the web interface, procurement information becomes accessible and competition and transparency are enhanced - making collusive bidding difficult. Objective of this paper is to discuss the e-Government Procurement implementation, its prospects and challenges and recommends measures to be adopted in public procurement system in Bangladesh. For this purpose a Questionnaire survey has been conducted in LGED to gather primary data. In addition, Key Informant Interview has been conducted to collect invaluable opinions of some senior officers and concerned contractors; their perception regarding the impact of e-Procurement, the reasons behind and suitable suggestions to overcome the negative impacts. Implementation of e- Government Procurement will supplement the present government's vision for building a Digital Bangladesh by 2021. The idea of a virtual bidding process could save more than 15% of the government's procurement costs, according to a World Bank study and it becomes easier to eradicate corruptions from the country. As the country marching forward for “Digital Bangladesh”, introducing the system of submitting the tender over internet is a very positive step. Basis on this study, it was found that For e-procurement solutions to be successful, tenderers have to find ways of easing the problems and making the implementation process smoother. This paper addressed both technical and non-technical issues. The main technical issues are infrastructure and skilled manpower. Obtaining the performance result of the e- GP system, the paper-based system can be replaced by e-GP. In Bangladesh, it can be a very effective tool to ensure transparency and accountability in the process of public procurement.