Govt asked to spell out punishment provision

KATHMANDU, OCT 31 -

The parliamentary Finance Committee on Thursday directed the government to make the punishment provision in the proposed amendment to the Public Procurement Act very clear.

Stating that there was some ambiguity in the proposed draft, the House panel told the government that the stipulation that government officials wouldn’t be held liable for actions done with good intentions, in particular, should be explained in greater detail.

“There should be a clear definition of good intentions,” said Prakash Jwala, chairman of the committee.

The Finance Committee has also asked the government to insert the recommendations made by its sub-committee in the proposed law. The sub-committee headed by lawmaker CP Mainali had submitted its report a month ago. Similarly, the committee has asked the government to reduce the rate of variation in a contract that a government official can approve, said Jwala. Variation means the additional money the government has to pay a contractor for cost overruns due to reasons not specified in contract.

“The proposed bill has allowed the department chief and the secretary to approve variations up to 15 percent and 25 percent respectively, and we have told the government to bring this down.”

The committee has also revised the proposed bill making it mandatory for all contracts for big projects to be awarded through e-bidding except for very small contracts. The committee has also told the government to clarify the provision regarding payment to consultants. “We have also sought a clear provision regarding the alleged practice of contractors giving a certain percentage of the contract amount to government officials illegally,” he said.

In September, the sub-committee recommended a number of measures to be included in the proposed bill. The panel asked the government to lower the time limit for bid submission to 21 days to ensure early implementation of development projects. Currently, contractors are given three months to submit bids. The panel also suggested conducting a procurement audit and performance based audit of development projects, preparing a roster of contractors based on their work performance and making it mandatory to terminate the contract if a contractor fails to start work on time.

There is a habit among contractors of fleeing after receiving advance payment. The sub-committee in its report has shown concern over the trend of reputed contractors submitting bids in the name of dummy firms.

SOurce: The Kathmandu Post