Public procurement reform in South Asia have been slow but steady, with public procurement laws passed in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. In Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, public procurement is still governed by regulations and guidelines, while in India, except for two states, public procurement at the Union level and in most States is regulated by General Financial Rules. In most countries, capacity to enforce public procurement laws and regulations, and to manage and conduct procurement is still a challenge often leading to ineffective use of scarce budgetary resources.
To help the countries in South Asia improve their public procurement systems through an exchange of knowledge and experiences in public procurement reform bringing together key policy makers and officials, a regional Forum is being hosted by the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) of the Government of Nepal, with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
The “South Asia Region Public Procurement Forum” is being held on 26-28 April, 2011 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Participants at the Forum will include senior government officials responsible for public procurement from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A wide range of policy makers, regulatory agencies and oversight agencies representing both public and private sector from Nepal will be participating in the Forum. Representatives of development partners will also be invited. Such a Forum is aimed to be organized on a regular basis in the Region.
The main objective of the 3-day Forum will be to provide a platform for senior public procurement officials, oversight agencies, and development partners in South Asian countries to share knowledge and experiences on good practices, with a view to making their public procurement systems more effective in utilization of public resources. The Forum will also allow the participants to network with each other, enhancing opportunities for improved regional cooperation. Furthermore, the participants will also be able to learn from a number of experts about the latest developments in public procurement, including Public Private Partnership (PPP), e-Government Procurement, and Procurement Performance Benchmarks using OECD/ DAC Indicators.
Participants at the Forum will hold discussions on legal and regulatory architecture in public procurement; capacity building, including professionalization of procurement; the need of a sound public procurement environment conducive to economic, efficient, transparent and fair procurement process; modernization of public procurement practices; and international public procurement agreements and benchmarks.
In addition to knowledge sharing and networking, the Forum will aim at the establishment of a regional Public Procurement Group to ensure continuous cooperation among officials of the participating countries as well as the development of a Regional Action Plan highlighting public procurement issues to be addressed in the Region that the regional group would act upon.
For more information, contact:
Mr Avanindra Kumar Shrestha, Secretary
Public Procurement Monitoring Office
avanindra@daad-alumni.de
Mr Yuki Shiroishi, Head – Portfolio Management Unit
Asian Development Bank
yshiroishi@adb.org
Mr Bigyan Pradhan, Country Sector Coordinator (Financial Management and Procurement)
World Bank
bpradhan@worldbank.org |
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