Punjab and the World Bank decide to devise electronic system for public procurement

Lahore: Punjab IT Board and the World Bank will devise the first e-Procurement System for the provincial and central governments of Pakistan that will likely to save up-to 25% government budget presently jeered by the paper based old system. It was decided in a meeting held at Arfa Software Technology Park on Wednesday.

The meeting was also attended among others by the Chairman PITB Dr Umar Saif, WB Consultant Paul Ronald Schapper and Senior Procurement Specialist of the World Bank Ms. Uzma Sadaf.

The WB team discussed maters regarding implementation of e-procurement in Punjab and support to roll out it to other provinces and federal government. Delineating different components of the project, Dr Saif told that PITB was already working on the project in collaboration with Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority and the World Bank. He said “e-Procurement will eliminate the hectic and flawed paperwork by making all process of advertising, bidding, evaluation, notification, contract awarding, and payment electronic. The system will provide vendors with the online facility of registration, viewing of tender documents and bids submission.”

Dr Saif told that the new system would enable standardization of procurement procedure, reduction in time and cost, fast compliance and reporting, access to information, enhanced level of trust, better record keeping and effective auditing. The World Bank team revealed that the system was successfully working in Bangladesh and India by making 5 to 25 percent savings. The team assured full cooperation to make it a success as it was a web based system that proved highly effective in minimizing visits, reducing documentation, improving decision making and above all improving transparency, efficiency and public service delivery in the public bodies.