Govt Procurement and Contracting - Addl Inputs
Below are some of the key issues, root causes and solutions as outlined by you on Government Procurement and Contracting.
Kindly review and share any additional specific inputs you have. We look forward to your inputs and soon submitting a whitepaper on this to the key stakeholders including Ministry of Finance, CVC and others so actions can be taken on this front.
Government Procurement and Contracting - Solutions
1. Government procurement processes and rules should be re-written
2. The Government should nominate a technical committee including IT professionals to study the existing procedures and suggest a new fool proof method to be adopted
3. Paperwork should be eliminated and systems should be computerised
4. All procurement should be done only through e-tenders
5. Target turn-around-times must be set up for every contracting process
6. SMEs should be encouraged to participate in the contracting process
7. CCTV cameras should be installed in offices to catch corruption cases
8. The eligibility criteria should be relaxed
9. A time limit should be set to get earnest money refunds
10. Conflict of interest of officers should be found, addressed and talked about in case studies without names
11. Payments disbursement should be made system driven, based on the completion status of the project
12. A single person should not be allowed to put in multiple bids using different names
13. The individual authority of the officers should be reduced with more dependence on system
14. The procurement officials should be rotated/changed once in every three years
15. Once a year, every procurement official should be made to go on compulsory week for 2 weeks so the vigilance staff can better understand their workings
16. Procurement tenders, bidding and results should be put in public domain to introduce transparency.
Government Procurement and Contracting - Root Causes
1. A major part of the procurement process still involves manual intervention
2. The tendering process is decades old
3. There is a lack of technological intervention in the procurement process
4. The rules and regulations have not been updated for many years
5. SME’s can’t pay bribes and are unable to bear delayed payments
6. The officials involved in Government procurement do not want the systems to be computerised so that they don’t lose their grip on the process
7. Procurement officials have a high level of authority
8. The corruption money is shared right from the clerks to higher bosses
9. Cases of conflict of interest are not actively pursued against Government officials
10. There are no set deadlines defined for different processes
11. Contractors with political backgrounds always have people on the inside
12. There is a lack of transparency in the procurement process
13. The ‘lowest bidder’ system in itself is breeding corruption
14. There are too many layers in the process
Government Procurement & Contracting - Key Issues
1. Procurement process is very slow, tedious and full of paper work
2. Government tendering process is too lengthy & time consuming
3. Set rules and regulations are very complicated
4. SME's are afraid of taking participation directly
5. E-tendering system is still in its nascent stages
6. Local tendering is full of corruption
7. Files don’t move unless bribes are paid to clerks and officers
8. There is a strong presence of conflict of interest in Government procurement and tendering
9. The eligibility criteria of the Government tenders does not give chance to startup firms to participate
10. Contractors do not get EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) refund for months
11. The rates finalization process is very long
12. Payments of the contractors stay stuck for a long time
13. The tender system is based on price and not quality of work
14. Contracts with the lowest bids are accepted even after knowing that the rates are much lower than the cost leading to compromise in quality
15. Contractors fill one tender in 3 different names after colluding with the authorities
16. Cartels exist in tendering
17. Liquidation damages are charged many times without basis citing late receipt and suppliers need to pay bribes to get them removed
18. Collecting retention money in projects is difficult as many times the individuals responsible for signing off want bribes. more
Kindly review and share any additional specific inputs you have. We look forward to your inputs and soon submitting a whitepaper on this to the key stakeholders including Ministry of Finance, CVC and others so actions can be taken on this front.
Government Procurement and Contracting - Solutions
1. Government procurement processes and rules should be re-written
2. The Government should nominate a technical committee including IT professionals to study the existing procedures and suggest a new fool proof method to be adopted
3. Paperwork should be eliminated and systems should be computerised
4. All procurement should be done only through e-tenders
5. Target turn-around-times must be set up for every contracting process
6. SMEs should be encouraged to participate in the contracting process
7. CCTV cameras should be installed in offices to catch corruption cases
8. The eligibility criteria should be relaxed
9. A time limit should be set to get earnest money refunds
10. Conflict of interest of officers should be found, addressed and talked about in case studies without names
11. Payments disbursement should be made system driven, based on the completion status of the project
12. A single person should not be allowed to put in multiple bids using different names
13. The individual authority of the officers should be reduced with more dependence on system
14. The procurement officials should be rotated/changed once in every three years
15. Once a year, every procurement official should be made to go on compulsory week for 2 weeks so the vigilance staff can better understand their workings
16. Procurement tenders, bidding and results should be put in public domain to introduce transparency.
Government Procurement and Contracting - Root Causes
1. A major part of the procurement process still involves manual intervention
2. The tendering process is decades old
3. There is a lack of technological intervention in the procurement process
4. The rules and regulations have not been updated for many years
5. SME’s can’t pay bribes and are unable to bear delayed payments
6. The officials involved in Government procurement do not want the systems to be computerised so that they don’t lose their grip on the process
7. Procurement officials have a high level of authority
8. The corruption money is shared right from the clerks to higher bosses
9. Cases of conflict of interest are not actively pursued against Government officials
10. There are no set deadlines defined for different processes
11. Contractors with political backgrounds always have people on the inside
12. There is a lack of transparency in the procurement process
13. The ‘lowest bidder’ system in itself is breeding corruption
14. There are too many layers in the process
Government Procurement & Contracting - Key Issues
1. Procurement process is very slow, tedious and full of paper work
2. Government tendering process is too lengthy & time consuming
3. Set rules and regulations are very complicated
4. SME's are afraid of taking participation directly
5. E-tendering system is still in its nascent stages
6. Local tendering is full of corruption
7. Files don’t move unless bribes are paid to clerks and officers
8. There is a strong presence of conflict of interest in Government procurement and tendering
9. The eligibility criteria of the Government tenders does not give chance to startup firms to participate
10. Contractors do not get EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) refund for months
11. The rates finalization process is very long
12. Payments of the contractors stay stuck for a long time
13. The tender system is based on price and not quality of work
14. Contracts with the lowest bids are accepted even after knowing that the rates are much lower than the cost leading to compromise in quality
15. Contractors fill one tender in 3 different names after colluding with the authorities
16. Cartels exist in tendering
17. Liquidation damages are charged many times without basis citing late receipt and suppliers need to pay bribes to get them removed
18. Collecting retention money in projects is difficult as many times the individuals responsible for signing off want bribes. more
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View all 79 comments Below 79 comments
First media reports showing the would be Prez.Incumbent meeting with PM - Modi showed him being awed by the Party P.M. So the writ of the PM and his agenda would be followed by the President when he is enthroned and his loyalty to ruling party would continue. Any Bills or complaints of the opposition would either be brushed aside or would not be acted upon. President should be a neutral person. Picking a Dalit ( both BJP and Congress are in same boat) shows that rather than an individual choice the party is playing its own game. more
Jun 20
Always Giving Contract to L1 bidder is not the right practice.Quality,Track record of the bidder and other relevant issues must also be given due weightage. more
Jun 20
When we are able to move towards GST & Cashless Economy, we should take similar but major Steps towards e-procurement with Advantages of greater Transparency & Reduction in Procurement Costs. more
Jun 20
All this will be an exercise in futility, unless there is a change in the attitude of both the Buyer( read Govt) and the seller. Both need to be proud of the Product, te buyer with regard to its quality for their use, and, the seller for the quality of the product suitability for aquality usage. If this becomes the primary criteria , instead of just price, we shall not have to bother for the rest, which will follow. more
Jun 19
