e-Government Procurement to be launched from mid-April

The government is all set to launch full-fledged e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system from mid-April this year, coinciding with the new year of the Nepali calendar, informed the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) Sunday.

"The making of the software has been completed and the PPMO is now conducting training for capacity building, installation of necessary hardware and development of other infrastructure," Ramesh Kumar Sharma, secretary at the PPMO, said in a function organized to sign Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with the commercial banks in the country.

The procurement monitoring body is preparing to launch the software for piloting in the first phase.

"In the first phase, we will launch it in Department of Roads, Department of Irrigation, Department of Water Supply and Sewerage and Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agriculture Roads (DOLIDAR). The e-GP will be tested in 50 model projects before launching it in all sectors," informed Sharma.

Currently, the government is using e-submission system, launched in 2007, which is an isolated system used separately by the respective government departments. As the e-submission system led to duplication of efforts and costs, the government had decided to upgrade it into the full fledged e-GP system. 

In e-GP, the governments use information technology system in conducting their procurement relationships with suppliers and contractors for the procurement of works, goods, consulting services and other services required by the public sector.

As the e-GP is considered safe, transparent and competitive service for public procurement works, stakeholders have long been demanding the electronic system to end various irregularities, muscle power and misappropriation in government procurement.

The PPMO said that it would completely discourage cartel and fixing deals among the bidders.

Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Dr. Chiranjivi Nepal said that the tender process in Nepal was very complex and as the muscle power was exercised by some of the contractors, both bidders and employees experienced massive pressure during the procurement process.

"I believe that with the implementation of e-GP system, the country will witness the growth in capital expenditure. The complex tender process has hindered the optimum utilization of development budget," he stated.

Initially used by Canada in 1991, the e-GP is the application of an efficient high quality management framework to public sector procurement, facilitated through online information and processes, read a PPMO document.

In Nepal, the electronic procurement system was applied in 2007 in the Department of Roads.

"e-GP has the potential to strengthen accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of this sensitive high value government function," said Sharma.

The government has developed a single portal for the public procurement works in technical assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The project to develop the single portal was completed in four years.

 "Public procurement includes 15 to 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Therefore, it should be transparent, easy and safe," said Tika Limbu, portfolio management specialist at the ADB.

The PPMO Sunday signed MoU with all 29 'A' class commercial banks which would facilitate the banks to use the full fledged e-GP single portal. The portal has a separate dashboard for the commercial banks.

The PPMO has already trained two employees each from all commercial banks on the use of e-GP portal.

Nepal Bankers' Association president Upendra Poudyal appreciated the government for involving the banking sector as the major stakeholders in the public procurement process.

"The new system will inspire good bidders and contractors to participate in the public procurement process," he said.

He suggested the government to apply all security measures to make the e-GP safe from the hackers and crackers, and also to establish help desk at the PPMO for a couple of months to facilitate the stakeholders who might need further orientation and technical assistance while using the new technology.