Don’t let the e-GP process be monopolised

We are disheartened to learn of anomalies in the electronic government procurement (e-GP) process allowing certain quarters to monopolise it. According to a new study on e-GP by the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), over the last 11 years, public contracts worth a whopping Tk 60,069 crore were awarded based on single bids. The study further reveals that one in five contracts is awarded through a single bid, without competition, which makes it glaringly obvious that something is amiss in the e-tendering process.

These findings are based on data collected from 64 ministries and divisions between January 2012 and February 2023. Apparently, the top five percent of contractors control nearly 30 percent of the e-contracts in the public sector, and their dominance is increasing. During the study period, as much as three quarters of the e-contracts awarded were single-bid contracts – given to 92 procuring entities. Furthermore, 416 contractors received at least 75 percent of their work as single bidders, the study found.

The government rolled out the e-GP process in 2011 to streamline the tendering process and increase transparency and accountability in the public procurement process. This was meant to utilise our limited resources optimally and meaningfully. Judging by the TIB statistics, however, the government has all but failed to achieve that goal. It is hard to accept that there is so little competition that such an overwhelming number of public contracts were disbursed through single bidding. It points to some level of manipulation in the tendering process with the potential collusion of politically backed entities and corrupt government officials, leading to a monopoly in the e-GP process. This is completely unacceptable.

Competitive bidding is vital to ensure that the best contractor is selected out of all competitors to do the job at hand, with the assurance of the best quality of work and value for money. That is exactly what we need right now, when our country is at a critical juncture of development. We urge the government to review and upgrade the e-GP process so that it is used for its intended purpose – which is to ensure a fair, competitive, transparent and corruption-free procurement system. The government must safeguard the process so that it cannot be manipulated by the corrupt and powerful.