The Successes, Weaknesses of e-GP and probable Solutions

By Md. Abdus Sattar

Bangladesh had no legal framework for government procurement until enactment of a uniform regulation in
2003 titled “The Public Procurement Regulations, 2003 (PPR, 2003). The law was enacted following
establishment of the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) under the Implementation Monitoring and
Evaluation Division (IME Division) of the Ministry of Planning in 2002.
The CPTU was established as a nodal agency based on a report ‘Country Procurement Assessment Report
(CPAR) from a research study conducted with joint financial assistance from the World Bank (WB) and the
Asian Development Bank (ADB).
With the real experience on the applicability of the PPR, 2003, the government issued Public Procurement Act,
2006 (PPA, 2006) and Public Procurement Rules, 2008 (PPR, 2008) on 06 July, 2006 and 24 January, 2008
respectively and both enacted on 31 January, 2008. The law and subsequent rules are enacted to ensure
transparency and accountability in the procurement of goods, works or services, and equitable treatment to all
who wishes to take part in the procurement processes and to ensure free and fair competition. Several
amendments to the procurement laws and regulations have also been issued in the form of gazettes to make
these laws and regulations more useful.
But even after the law and rules came into effect, the desired benefits were not
found. We have not been able to avoid the incidents of snatching the tender boxes,
preventing in the purchasing and submission of the tenders, the inertness in the
evaluation of the tenders and the discrimination, the complexity in the preparation
of tender documents, the manipulation etc. The
purchasers were in a state of fear on the day of
submission of the tenders; In most cases, Procuring
Entities would take the help of law enforcement and try to control the situation a
bit. As a result, the purposes of the Public Procurement Law i.e.to ensure
transparency, accountability, equitale treatment to all and to ensure free and fair
competition were remained the dream.
In these context, the national e-GP Portal (http://www.eprocure.gov.bd) was launched in 2011under the control
and overall management of the CPTU to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the public
expenditure. This online single web portal with a secure web-based dashboard allows Procuring Entitites (PEs)
and Procuring Agencies (PAs) to acquire their desired goods, works and services.
Under the Public Procurement Reform Program (PPRP), this complete e-GP solution is funded by the World
Bank, being used by all government Pas in phases. This online platform is helping PEs to have equal access to
bidders and ensures efficiency, transparency and accountability in the government procurement process in
Bangladesh.
According to Article 65 of the PPA, 2006, the e-GP guidelines were approved by the Government of the
People's Republic of Bangladesh, under which the e-GP system is introduced and implemented in two stages.
In the first phase, e-GP was introduced on pilot basis at CPTU and 4 (four) sectoral agencies i.e. Local
Government Engineering Department (LGED), Road and Highways Department (RHD), Bangladesh Water
Development Board (BWDB) and Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB). e-GP was extended
coutrywise in these four organizations in phases and 100% e-GP have been implemented in these target agencies
since 2016.
In the second phase, the e-GP was launched in other 1300 organizations. In addition, e-Contract Management
Systems (e-CMS) was launched in those four agencies on 15 November, 2019. e-CMS is a complete electronic
contract management system designed to prepare work plans, set milestones, track and monitor progress,
prepare bills, submit invoices and make payment, submit and approve variation proposals, submit and approve
time extension proposals and issue completion certificates.

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Successes
Since the launch of e-GP in Bangladesh in 2011, there have been invited nearly 420,000 tenders, including
1,27,425 tenders from LGED, 23,871 tenders from RHD, 11,918 tenders from BWDB, 1,856 tenders from
BREB and 2,54,930 tenders from other organizations.
Bangladesh's annual budget for the financial year 2018-19 was 53.3 million dollars; Of this, $ 21 million was
the Annual Development Program (ADP) and out of this, the amount of public procurement was $ 17.9 million
in the development budget and $ 6.2 million in the the revenue budget, which stood at $ 24.1 million meaning
45.2% of the annual budget as a percentage. The percentage of public procurement in GDP is 7.9%. Of these
procurement activities, $ 15 million is accomplished through e-gp, which is 62%.
A policy institution like the CPTU is working very efficiently in this sector, which has a well-accepted website
and an e-GP system that is constantly being updated. The e-GP system is earning a satisfactory amount of
revenue annually thus bringing the system to a sustainable level. Since the launch of e-GP in 2011, there has
been significant improvement in transparency and accountability in the procurement processes. Almost all the
information in the procurement process is published on the website. The rate of inappropriate application has
decreased at the decentralized level. The market access options have changed overnight. The number of
registered tenderers in eGP is now more than 62,000. The World Bank's research has shown that the state has
earned nearly $600 million for e-GP during the period 2012-18.
The e-GP system is able to create reports of the overall or office-based Key Performance Index (KPI) in
Bangladesh. A Mid-Term Budget Framework (MTBF) is in place in the country to enable the next purchase
plan to be prepared by monitoring the trend or continuity of the procuring agencies. In addition, integrated
Budget and Accounts System (iBAS++) is in place for budget control and management in the country. Research
has shown that contractors/suppliers are getting their dues from the purchasers on average within 30-40 days.
These indicators indicate the subsequent prosperity of the institutional structural and managerial capabilities of
government procurement in Bangladesh.
Analysis of procurement activity data during 2012-2019 shows that the duration for contract signing from the
invitation for bids (IFB) was reduced by about 28% [86.7 days in 2012 to 62.2 days in 2019]. The contract
signing notice of 90% of the tenders is possible within the initial validity period of the tenders. The trend of non-
responsiveness has decreased from 8% (2012) to 3% (2019). Private companies are also very active in
procurement activities, alongwith the government agencies. These are the images of the development of the
management and marketing practices of Bangladesh's procurement operations.

Weaknesses of e-GP systems and probable solutions

Despite all the successes of the e-GP system, weakness is not negligible. The study found that about 70% of
contracts cannot be completed within the stipulated timeframe, thus wasting time and extra money.
Implementation of development projects is being prolonged while the approval time for high value contracts is
extended. Implementing tasks in many small packages without making a strategic procurement plan increases
the purchasing costs and reduces the efficiency.
The following are the notable problems or weaknesses:
1. Browser and Version Dependency
e-GP systems depend on the browser and version, so users are often face problems in using this system.

Solution: Take necessary steps to stop eGP's browser and version dependency.
2. Designation based user ID
The user Email IDs are used on designation basis. When a user is transferred from one position to another
he has to use the separate Email ID designated for that position. In most of the cases, one person needs to
play several roles such as Procuring Entity, Member of Tender Evaluation or Opening Committee,

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 PE/Organization Admin etc. In each of the cases he needs to use separate ID. Besides, things become more
cumbersome for Upazila (Sub-district) level users, because they have to work as user of Upazila (Sub-
district) Parishad beyond the user of respective department. So, they have to use separate sets of IDs for
Upazila Parishad meaning one user uses 1-6 IDs and passwords creating huge problems when the IDs need
password reset. It is the main obstruction of the rural level user.
Solution: Every user should have only one user ID in his life time.
a. User-freindliness of the System
The e-GP system is not modern and user-friendly. Putting the information is not so easy. The data is
accepted in text format rather than in data format. The same information has to be provided repeatedly.
Since there is no linkage between the data, no subsequent analysis can be done. Due to the tender datasheets
and PCC data not being in the data format, tender evaluation and contract document preparation are very
difficult and time consuming.
Solution: The e-GP system needs to be more user-friendly and modernized. Required modifications must be
made to the e-GP in order to make the data accessible in data format, accepted and analyzed.
b. Tender evaluation and preservation of bidders' database
The prior experience of the bidders is an important factor in evaluating tenders. The e-GP software is
designed to allow bidders to provide all information, including their previous experience, in PDF or text
format. Moreover, there is no storage and provision for later use of verified data. Downloading and printing
pdf information is a very difficult matter for the Tenders Evaluation Committee (TEC). This would not
have been a problem if there is a bidders’ database containing all the information of the tenderers’
previous and ongoing work, including receiving bills. However, if it is already done by CPTU from the very
begining, a complete database would have been available in the last 9 years.
Solution: As soon as possible, CPTU needs to prepare a bidders’ database; Moreover, at the time of tender
submission, bidders should have the opportunity to submit the information in the data format. Contract
management, including all tender processes and bills payment must be online based and eGP should be able
to use all this information.
c. Syndication of the tender
In most areas of Bangladesh, one or more people verbally control the tender of that area. It is prefixed who
will get which work. The tender is submitted accordingly. If a contractor participates in the tender
disobeying this, the officers of the procuring agencies are forced to cancel it; If the officers of the procuring
agencies denied this and issue the Notification of Award (NoA) or signed the contract as per rules, the
contractor is use to be beaten by the miscreants and barred from implementing the work; Later, he is fined
for failing to start/complete work at the specified time and was forced to debar the company. This is
hampering real competition, despite the possibility of transparency and free competition in the tendering
process, or increasing the number of single tenders.

Solution: The problem cannot be solved by amending any law or rule; Without the intervention of law
enforcement agencies and political commitments, this problem cannot be solved.
d. Internet Speed

Internet speed is a very important issue in the case of submission and evaluation of tenders to eGP.
Although the Internet broadband has expanded across the country; But sometimes the tenderers complain
that they could not submit the tender because of the low speed of the Internet.

Solution: The issue can be further examined.

e. Contract Management

The process of tendering from the procurement plan to the signing of the contract is currently completed in
eGP but the implementation of the contract is yet to be included in the e-GP. Particularly though work

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 plans, variations orders, time extensions, progress monitoring, invoice preparations, payments,
terminations, etc., started on a pilot basis but still could not be widely used.

Solution: e-CMS should be introduced and integrate with iBAS ++ on 100% work. Pilot schemes need to be
monitored and the problems arising out of this should be reviewed and taken action to resolve them.
f. Rate Schedule

Bill of Quantities (BoQ) preparation is an important event in eGP. In the amendment to the procurement
rules on November 27, 2016 (SRO No. 345-Law/2016), it is stated that an estimation committee shall be
constituted according to rule 16(5) in order to prepare the estimate by analyzing the market price, which
will keep the estimate secret till the opening of the tender. But a high technical knowledge is essential for
determining the unit price of each item by analyzing the market value. Moreover, it involves financial
discipline as well as the approval of the Project Dircetor or the Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE). In the
case of large projects, this may be partly considered; But about one thousand three hundred fifty (1350)
Procuring Agencies of Bangladesh are required to make numerous estimates on a regular basis; what really
prepares the field-level lower and middle level technical staffs.

In reality, they prepared the estimate based on the latest Rate Schedule established by respective department
since long and forwarded it to the Project Director or Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE) for approval,
through their senior officers. The project Director or HOPE approve and send it again to the Procuring
Entity for Tendering Purpose. Therefore, the rate schedule is an important aspect of the procurement
process, but it is completely ignored in the Public Procurement Law and Rules. Nowhere is this mentioned;
Moreover, the rule 16(5) made to prepare estimate by the estimation committee has brought unnecessary
burden on the Procuring Entities and provided food for the auditors.

Solution: An integrated rate schedule, alongwith rate analysis of each and evry items, needs to be
introduced and updated on yearly basis and region-wise and it should be integrated with the eGP system so
that BoQ preparation and evaluation become easier.
g. Troubleshooting

e-GP users often face various problems related to e-GP. A 24/7 helpdecks is established on the CPTU to
solve the problems immediately. But even if phone calls and e-mails are sent, the solutions are not available
if you don't send the official letter to the CPTU in the hardcopy. Without the consent of the Director
General in the official file, the users or procuring entities can not find any solution to the problem. As a
result, it takes a long time to solve one problem.

Solution: Troubleshooting needs to be resolved quickly.

h. Complexity in rescheduling of the tender submission deadline on the training server

e-GP training plays an important role in the implementation of e-GP. www.training.eprocure.gov.bd server
has been launched for this training. During training session, the tender submission deadline has to be given
in the light of PPR for 14/21/28 days in the tender notice. But since the training is for a maximum of 1-5
days and the dummy tender is to be submitted and evaluated within that time, the time frame for submission
of the tender is required to be reset or re-scheduled within the training period. Currently, e-mail is needed to
sent from the official mail of the PAs to the helpdesk of the CPTU to do this, then the helpdesk reschedules
the time. There are various complications to this task. This could not be done by procuring entities, users,
and tenderers of the rural areas.

Solution: The training server should provide the opportunity to reschedule the tender for all.
3. Miscellaneous

The key performance indicator (KPI) based contract management process must be monitored by launching
the Electronic Contract Management System (e-CMS) at all levels. At the same time, activities should be
undertaken to enhance the capacity on contractual matters. The legal basis for the implementation of
strategic procurement planning based on the analysis of planning, cost and market information received
from the e-GP should be made at the agency level.

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 In addition to the above, the followings will help to improve the online procurement process:
 Launching e-action or catalog method;
 Sharing online services (e.g. NBR, EC, LGIs, Joint Stock Commission etc.) among different
organizations;
 The appeal system must be initiated against the time limit and decision of the debar and there must be a
clear guideline.
 Effective steps must be taken to address the multiple complications related to the e-GP system's
management.

[The writer is Executive Engineer, Procurement and Procurement Specialist, LGED. E-mail: sattar.lged@gmail.com]

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