Govt Procurement/Contracting: Inputs on Solutions
Below are the exhaustive root causes and issues as identified by you in the area of Govt Procurement and Contracting. Kindly review them and share specific solutions that should be implemented to speed up procurement cycles in Govt and make them more transparent. This area alone if addressed can have tremendous impact on India's Transformation.
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
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 24 comments Below 24 comments
Process followed by C.P.W.D in e-tendering is paper-free & free from tender fixing, hence should be followed by every state P.W.D & central tendering. more
Mar 22
I venture to think - all the root causes converge to 2 other root causes - (a) lack of transparency and (b) lack of accountability. One suggestion to address both of these is to start a PIL with the objectives to make all government contracts accountable and transparent. The following can be some rules - (a) all tenders must be available online, (b) all the tender responses must be published online within a week of a decision being made, (c) the criteria for the decision as well as the contract value and payment milestones alongwith the party awarded to, must be published online within a week of the contract being awarded, (d) the planned vs actual progress towards the work must be published online, (e) as a result of point d, the actual completion also should become published online, (f) at every stage if there are any changes in the plan (timeline, commercial, anything...) that also should be published online. Based on the work requirement, for the lifetime of the delivered product / service, annual report must be published online. These are basics of project planning and so cannot be denied by the agencies if they are directed by a court to do so. For the tender process manipulation itself, there can be 1 or 2 rules added - (a) companies / organizations with even one single owner / director being same cannot participate in the same tender, (b) if any owner / director of a company / organization has a track record of 3 previous non-performances, their tender must be automatically disqualified. We can design a portal for this database quite easily and I am even willing to volunteer to do it. more
Mar 20
All procurements should be by e tenders. Tender fixing is a big problem. Any suspicion regarding this the process may be cancelled and re tendered. more
Mar 19
The procurement officials should be rotated/changed once in three years. Like wise no contractor should be allowed for more than three years/required period though he quotes lowest rate. Govt. procurement always emphasis on rate not quality. This approacch should be changed. more
Mar 19
