PPRA holds seminar on public procurement

LAHORE: A seminar on public procurement was organised by Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) at 90-Sharah-e-Quaid-e-Azam.

All provincial secretaries, commissioners, heads of attached departments, autonomous bodies and chief-executives of public sectors companies participated in the event.

Chairing the seminar, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed highlighted the importance of training as well as capacity-building of government officials in public procurement. The aim of the seminar was to create awareness of principles of public procurement and fundamental procedures in top-level government officials.

Ali Bahadur Qazi, PPRA managing director, reiterated the importance of public procurement as a tool for good governance and better service delivery.

The Planning and Development Department chairman stressed on establishment of procurement and project management cells in various government departments. Eminent experts and speakers on public procurement delivered lectures, including Syed Mohsin Abbas, legal expert, Dr Adnan Qadir Khan, CERP from the UK, Atta-ur-Rehman, PITB and PPRA panel of experts.

Top government officials serving in various mega projects, including the CEOs of Safe City Authority and Saaf Pani Compnay, shared their valuable experiences in procurement. Case studies were developed by PPRA to provide hands-on experience to top government officials on various aspects of public procurement. The participants were divided into six groups, covering six important areas of public procurement; planning, prequalification, bidding documents, bid evaluation, grievance redress and contract award. The chief secretary appreciated the efforts of PPRA for holding such an informative and enriching seminar on public procurement, and gave a shield to the best performing group.