Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) has drawn the attention of the Planning Commission chairman towards the alleged exemption from application of PPRA Ordinance 2002 and Public Procurement Rules 2004 in award of a contract to M/S National Logistics Cell (NLC).
Terming the exemption by Planning Commission as corruption, the TIP advisor, in a letter written to deputy chairman planning commission Dr Nadeemul Haq contended that the Planning Commission had informed PPRA/Cabinet Division that the Public Procurement Rules 2004 was silent on the subject of application of Public Procurement Rules 2004 on contractors being a government entity, which TIP said was a “false statement”. “We have s received the copy of clarification given by your division to Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, on the alleged illegal exemption granted to M/S National Logistics Cell (NLC) by the Planning Commission which is a false statement. Planning Commission has also requested the PPRA/Cabinet Division that in the absence of specific provision in the rules, government [competent authority] may issue policy which is upheld vide Rule 38 of PPRA Rules 2004,” says the letter a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today.
According to the PPRA Ordinance 2002 and the Public Procurement Rules 2004, TIP advisor Adil Gilani said no such issue existed as the provisions for format and mandatory requirements of Bid Guarantee, Performance Guarantee, CAR Insurance Policies and Retention Money were available in detail in the Public Procurement Rules 2004, and PPRA Regulations of 2008.
“According to Rule 23 (k), format of all securities required is to be part of the bidding documents, and according to S.R.O 805(I)/2008 of 11th July 2008 (Public Procurement Regulations 2008), standard bidding documents of Pakistan Engineering Council are mandatory on all the procuring agencies”.
Gilani said under the PEC standard bidding documents, the format of performance security, bid bond, insurance guarantee, bank guarantee had been defined in explicit terms, which were mandatory on all procuring agency to ask from all the contractors to provide, including Government owned manufacturers, suppliers or consultants.
“The exemption from mandatory requirements of Bid Guarantee, Performance Guarantee, CAR Insurance Policies and Retention Money, accorded to NLC vide Planning omission letter No P&D Division’s U.O. No 4 (176) Ad-VII/PD/NLC2000 dated 01-08-2007, sent to Brig. Nisar Ahmed Mir, HQ Engineer NLC Sowan Camp, Rawalpindi, is therefore illegal,” says the TIP letter. The TIP said that Planning Commission (PC) would be held responsible by the CCP for violating competitive laws, as it had been responsible to accord 20-25 percent advantage to NLC against other Contractors of Pakistan.
The TIP again requested the Chairman Planning Commission not to circumvent the Laws, and to take action according to the Public Procurement Rules 2004, which it said had also been upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the suo moto case of the Alleged Corruption in Rental Power Plants Judgment announced on 30 march 2012, and immediately withdraw all such exemptions granted to the NLC.
The TIP also urged Minister for Finance, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to respond to its letter sent to him on February 2, 2012, about the illegal act of the Planning Commission, but no response had been received from his office till date.
“This act of Planning Commission negates the CCP Laws, and also the government’s Policy of Privatization. NLC is doing commercial activities like Building Plazas in Karachi, share dealings in Stock Exchange, and many more commercial ventures. The FBR has also pending claim of billion of rupees of Income Tax on NLC. The TIP requests the minister to act in accordance with the law on this particular issue,” added the TIP.