World Bank promotes best practices in procurement

• Opportunity for Sri Lankan agencies to share knowledge, best-practices with procurement experts
• Roadmap for implementation of framework agreements to be formulated
• E-procurement a major focus, potential application in Sri Lankan reforms

By Channa Fernandopulle The World Bank last week conducted a two-day regional workshop on the implementation of framework agreements in procurement processes. Aimed at creating knowledge sharing between regional procurement practitioners and experts in the field, the workshop will culminate in the creation of a regional roadmap for better understanding and implementation of framework agreements. A framework agreement is the term used to describe the process by which a buyer and seller agree on terms for the supply of an unspecified amount of materials or services over a specified period during which the buyer may form separate contracts as required, while the terms of that contract are themselves governed by the initial agreement. “There are a variety of areas where these agreements may apply and we have experts from New Zealand and Chile – two countries which have successfully utilized framework agreements over the last decade – to share their experiences. Within the Asian region we have seen some instances where these agreements have been used very successfully but we’ve also seen some countries which started this practice and then discontinued it.” “We hope to take the lessons from such success stories and combine them with the experiences of those nations who discontinued the process in order to understand what needs to be done to refine the framework agreements and that is why we say this is a real learning experience and we believe that this will be an excellent opportunity for the Sri Lankan team to network with their regional colleagues and gain some valuable insights,” World Bank Senior Procurement Specialist, Haider Raza explained. Speaking to the Daily FT shortly after the workshop’s inauguration, he noted that while such agreements had a wide scope of application, they would have particular utility in the field of disaster management as state institutions could invite tenders for such framework agreements beforehand and in the event of a national disaster, quickly and efficiently secure supplies needed in a transparent and efficient manner. “I think this will be very useful in the Sri Lankan context since the Government is currently revising their procurement guidelines and so this will be an excellent opportunity for the team representing Sri Lanka to share and learn from this platform and if they feel that it is beneficial they can take it forward and perhaps introduce these lessons into the new procurement guidelines,” he added.   Procurement advancements Elaborating on current advancements in the field of procurement, Raza expressed enthusiasm over the potential for implementation of e-procurement systems with a view to further streamlining and optimizing procurement processes. “E-procurement is a very interesting development. In fact such systems are already being used in many countries globally and within this region too. The World Bank has helped develop such systems in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and we believe it is a very efficient system. “There is no human interference, instead, vendors are given free access to tenders and it’s left up to them whether or not to apply for a tender so there is no undue influence in decision while communication is also streamlined allowing for greater efficiency,” he explained Raza added that the improvements to the process brought about by the implementation of an e-procurement system would help establish what are considered to be the essential pre-requisites of an effective procurement system. “Starting from the opportunity for a bid to the decision to awarding a tender, the whole system is made electronic and transparent so you can ensure costs are kept down. Improvements brought in with e-procurement systems are the same as the overall requirements essential to an effective procurement process and we understand that the Sri Lankan government is also considering such an e-procurement system as part of the revised procurement guidelines,” he stated. Commenting on potential implementation strategies, Raza explained that most countries in the region, including India have already commenced a phased roll-out of e-procurement systems over the short, medium and long term however he noted that a comprehensive national procurement strategy would be a crucial first step to any such implementation. “Depending on that strategy you can move forward. For example in the first stage you could invite bids through the e-procurement system; in the second stage you can evaluate the bids and in the third stage, you can award the contracts or tenders through the system. “So it really breaks down into a short-medium and long term process. With India they are a very big country and there are so many states that it is not possible to roll out this system in every state. Instead they have gone with this phased approach where they roll out the system from different departments up into the state level,” he explained.   Following the Indian example, Raza suggested that Sri Lanka too initially implement an e-procurement system in one or two Government institutions – such as the Treasury or Road Development Authority - thereafter gradually extending the system to cover all national procurement processes using the lessons learned at each phase of implementation. He added that the World Bank would be willing to extend financial support and technical expertise in this endeavor to any nation that requested it. Pix by – Upul Abayasekera