The Government of Bangladesh, demonstrating impressive policy reform actions within the country procurement environment, has now embarked upon an ambitious program to manage implementation challenges aiming at improving performance of public procurement progressively as part of strengthening overall sectoral governance.
The World Bank is assisting the government in preparing this follow-on procurement reforms package which will help institutionalize procurement management capacity, strengthen key sectoral agencies, introduce electronic-procurement on a pilot basis, and built the concept of social accountability in procurement.
With World Bank support in the last four years, the country played a leading role within the South Asia region in changing the procurement environment by establishing a procurement policy unit combined with an array of policy reform actions including passes of a procurement Act in the Parliament. All these actions will help enhancing efficient use of public resources with better value-for-money and backed up by a transparent and accountable system to improving the overall business environment.
Appreciating Government’s continued commitment to reform, a recent World Bank mission completed appraisal of the follow-on procurement reform interventions which is being processed on a fast-track basis to deliver within the financial year. These includes: training of procurement officials, engineers, auditors, bidding community including policy makers, help government’s key sectoral agencies to manage and monitor their own procurement following the national laws and regulations and using the procurement management information system, with piloting of the electronic -procurement system.
The appropriate disclosure of procurement information, combined with a strategic communication plan, social awareness, advocacy campaign, and the engagement of civil society group/ beneficiary groups for better transparency and shared accountability are also being contemplated under the new procurement reforms package.
May 2007
Contacts:
S.M. Rezwan Ul Alam, (8802) 815-9015, Ext 4242
e-mail: salam3@worldbank.org
For more information on the World Bank in Bangladesh, please visit : www.worldbank.org.bd & www.worldbank.org
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