CCP, NAB to work together to curb bid rigging

KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) signed a cooperation pact aimed at cracking down on bid rigging, collusion, and other anti-competitive practices in public procurement, officials said on Wednesday.

NAB and the CCP formalised the agreement at a ceremony in Islamabad, where CCP Secretary Marryum Pervaiz and NAB Director-General Operations Muhammad Tahir signed the memorandum of understanding. The event was attended by CCP Chairperson Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu and NAB Chairman Lt Gen (r) Nazir Ahmed Butt.

The MoU sets the stage for joint investigations, information sharing and technical collaboration. It also covers mutual support in capacity building, data analysis, risk identification and enforcement strategies to curb procurement irregularities.

“The federal PSDP for 2023-24 stands at Rs1.1 trillion, while provincial annual development plans amount to Rs1.56 trillion,” Dr Sidhu said at the signing. “Despite the presence of PPRA’s e-procurement system, there’s no robust mechanism to ensure transparency in bidding. Regular monitoring of collusion is essential.”

Dr Sidhu said the CCP has developed specialised software to analyse large data sets for patterns of rigging and cartel behaviour. He highlighted the difference in legal thresholds between the CCP’s civil enforcement model and NAB’s criminal proceedings, emphasising that inter-agency cooperation could strengthen deterrence and improve enforcement. Butt said the collaboration was long overdue, as collusive practices and procurement fraud are draining public resources. He called bid rigging “a mega crime against the economy” and said NAB would benefit from the CCP’s technical expertise in cartel detection.Both agencies pledged to work closely to tackle corruption and anti-competitive conduct that hampers fair competition and fiscal transparency.