Public purchase supervision

The government is set to establish a new entity - the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) - by abolishing the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU), sources said.
The CPTU, which is at present responsible for monitoring and coordinating state purchases, has framed a draft of the BPPA Act.
The proposed act aims at regulating, monitoring and supervising public procurement by an independent authority, having more power than the CPTU, they added.
Recently, the draft of the act has been sent to the Ministry of Finance, seeking its opinions.
Established in April 2002, the CPTU is an agency under the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning.
The draft mentioned that the BPPA will act as an independent and impartial organisation while enforcing administrative power and carrying out responsibilities.
The agency, with its headquarter in Dhaka, will be able to set up offices in any part of the country.
Headed by an executive director, the BPPA will regulate the state procurement system, and enforce the authority given to it under the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006 and its rules.
The major responsibility of the BPPA will be to ensure proper execution of all the acts relating to public procurement.
Besides, the agency will bring necessary amendments to PPA 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules 2008 as well as the Bangladesh e-Government Procurement (e-GP) guidelines.
Its tasks will also include administering e-GP system and maintaining e-GP database along with preparing, approving and distributing standard tender documents and other documents relating to public procurement.
The BPPA will provide interpretation of procurement-related acts and documents, and also offer public procurement-related recommendations on request of ministries and divisions.
It will have the authority to summon bid documents and related files on specific reasons from buyers to whom PPA 2006 is applicable.
The entity will be able to check and review the documents and files to ensure proper enforcement of the public procurement-related acts.
If necessary, the BPPA will provide suggestions, recommendations and directives, if any breach of public procurement-related laws and rules are found.
The authority will be able to formulate necessary rules under the BPPA Act to ensure its appropriate implementation.
A senior official at the CPTU told the FE that the basic difference is the BPPA will be an independent entity, while the CPTU is not.
"An independent entity can work more efficiently," he said without elaborating further.
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