Remove unfair clauses for equal opportunity in public procurement

The Dhaka Times Desk Speakers at the seminar on Sunday (May 12) said the government should remove discriminatory tax structures for local companies to ensure a level playing field for all domestic and foreign firms in the public procurement process.

They presented these information at the seminar titled 'Public Procurement Act-Challenges and Opportunities' organized by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh in the capital.

In the speech of the chief guest, State Minister for Planning Md. Shahiduzzaman Sarkar said that the current government has launched electronic government procurement to ensure transparency in the initial stage of procurement. “E-GP has turned the procurement process 180 degrees', he said, adding that there are many ways forward in terms of transparency and accountability.

The state minister said that people of high morals are needed to ensure transparency and accountability in the country. He promised to provide all-out assistance in taking into consideration the recommendations, complaints and demands coming from the stakeholders in the meeting.

Speaking as the designated negotiator, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) Mohammad Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury said that they want to bring 100% procurement system to e-GP system in the country. He said BPPA is continuously identifying procurement related challenges and correcting them. Mr. Rahman also said that they will reduce the existing three-step grievance redressal to one step to facilitate redressal.

The former lead procurement specialist of the World Bank Dr. Zafrul Islam presented the keynote paper titled 'Governance and Competitiveness in Public Procurement Practice: Bangladesh Context'. He said conflict of interest is a major concern in procurement processing in Bangladesh. "COIs arise from potential informal or undisclosed relationships between government officials and the contracting or consulting industry," he said. Mr Islam said there were instances of government officials or their family members participating in the same procurement process in the organization conducting business. He urged the BPPA to consult stakeholders before enacting any law or regulation.

IBFB advisor and former chairman of NBR Muhammad Abdul Majeed recommended reforms in the financial year to reduce wastage of resources and time in implementing construction projects. He insisted on equal taxation of domestic and foreign companies instead of the existing discriminatory tax structure towards local establishments.

IBFB Vice President MS Siddiqui urged the government to impose uniform taxation at all levels including public imports. He emphasized the need to be competitive in the procurement process for long-term sustainability. Dhaka University Economics Department Professor Muhammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiqui urged the authorities to ensure equality in the process of awarding work.

Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI) Advisory Engineer SM Khorshed Alam has urged the government to scrap the awarding of the lowest bidder in the public procurement process. He said the potential awardee's ability to purchase should be considered rather than the bid amount.

Former president of Manufacturers Association for Transformer and Switchgear (MATS) Engineer Rabiul Alam has called on the government to remove the anomalies of local companies in the project award process. IBFB president Humayun Rashid gave welcome speech in the seminar. News bulletins.

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How to prevent dengue

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral fever. This fever is different from other viral or bacterial fevers. However, this fever is not contagious in any way. This viral fever can occur alone or in combination with other viruses (chikungunya, yellow fever, Burma forest, flu, respiratory syncytial) and bacteria (pneumococcus).

Dengue fever is divided into two categories depending on the severity of symptoms and fever.

1. Common dengue fever

2. Dengue fever with bleeding.

In the case of common dengue fever, the following symptoms are mainly seen-

1. Sudden high fever lasting 2 to 7 days.

2. Severe headache.

3. Pain behind the eyes.

4. Along with the fever, red rash appears all over the body.

5. Severe pain in whole body as well as back pain.

6. Nausea or vomiting.

7. A rash or red bumps on the skin.

In case of dengue fever with bleeding:

1. Bleeding from nose, mouth or vomiting with high fever within 2 to 48 hours.

2. Fluid accumulation in chest or abdomen along with fever.

If any of these symptoms appear, seek medical attention immediately.

On the other hand

Wait at home for the first 3 days of fever. On the other hand, sponge the whole body with water every now and then. This will reduce the level of fever. Drink enough water and rest. After that, if the fever does not decrease or if it continues to increase after some time, consult a doctor immediately.

Things to do to prevent Dengue:

1. Try to keep the surroundings of the house as clean as possible.

2. If there are flower tubs or broken plastic bottles, can shells, tires or polythene inside the house, clean them quickly and drain the accumulated water from the flower tubs.

3. Spray or fog at least 3 times a week to kill mosquitoes.

4. You can keep mosquito repellent cream with you while going out.

5. After evening, younger and older members of the household should use mosquito nets.

6. Clean up any accumulated rain water, as this is the time when Aedes mosquitoes lay their eggs.

7. On the other hand, you can use mats along with mosquito nets to avoid mosquito infestation.

8. Since Aedes mosquitoes bite during the day, it is important to avoid sleeping with mosquito nets while sleeping during the day. Source: https://dmpnews.org