CCP, PPRA to jointly save billions of national exchequer

ISLAMABAD: In order to scrutinise $65-80 billion public procurement made in Pakistan on annual basis, two giant regulatory bodies- Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and Pakistan Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) have formally joined hands to combat anti competitive practices causing multibillion dollar losses to national exchequer.

The PPRA will provide data and information to CCP and the anti competitive watchdog will move against collusive bidding in accordance with Competition Act 2010 for ensuring savings of public exchequer.

“Around 25 to 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is consumed for public procurement in case of Pakistan and other developing countries so there is huge potential to plug loopholes for saving multibillion dollars,” one top official of CCP told The News in background discussions here on Wednesday.

According to official announcement made by the CCP, stated that the CCP and the PPRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for strengthening public procurement and combating anti-competitive practices.

The MoU was signed by Vadiyya Khalil, Chairperson CCP and Khizar Hayat Khan, Managing Director (MD), PPRA in a ceremony held at CCP Head Office. The ceremony was attended by Ikram Ul Haque Qureshi, CCP’s Member (Cartel & Trade Abuse and Legal) and senior officers of PPRA and CCP.

The PPRA working its Ordinance 2002 is responsible to take measures for improving the governance, management, transparency, accountability and quality of public procurement of goods, services and works in the public sector while CCP has the enforcement powers under the Competition Act, 2010 to prohibit collusive bidding. 

The MoU has been signed to forge a strategic partnership between the CCP and PPRA for sharing of information on matters relating to their respective statutory mandates, including the possible cases of anti-competitive practices. CCP and PPRA will undertake coordinated efforts to strengthen their own capacities in detecting anti-competitive practices in public procurement as well as to build the capacity of the public procurement agencies to identify and report the instances of bid rigging. 

As part of such efforts, PPRA will regularly provide training to CCP officials on matters relating to public procurement processes while CCP will provide training to PPRA officials on matters relating to anti-competitive practices in public procurement. In addition, they will also take steps to develop linkages and partnerships with international organizations that can assist in the capacity building of their staff. Moreover, the two institutions will assist each other in developing guidelines for the public procurement agencies and potential bidders regarding anti-competitive practices.

The Chairperson CCP and MD PPRA while speaking on the occasion expressed the resolve of both the institutions to effectively implement the MoU in letter and spirit for the greater benefit of the stakeholders and the public exchequer.