Govt. urged to ‘digitise’ national tender process
View(s):Annual purchases by the Sri Lankan Government, commonly referred to as public procurement, is a key economic activity and last year accounted for about Rs. 596 billion or 19 per cent of total state spending, a workshop on national procurement guidelines in Colombo was told last week.
Releasing this information, P. Algama, Director-General of Public Finance at the Ministry of Finance further explained the importance of understanding proper procurement planning to prevent high cost and ensure standard products are released to the market.
He said procurement guidelines are essential to ensure corruption-free business dealings, and promoting accountability and transparency. The workshop at the Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo was for members and stakeholders of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Medical Devices Industry and dealt with procurement practices and the impact on pharmaceuticals and the medical devices industry.
Chamber President Saman Hulangamuwa urged the authorities to digitise the national procurement process.
“In today’s day and age communication happens so quickly and as an industry which is highly competitive, it is imperative for us to stay ahead of the game. We need to make sure everything is in order and technology makes it so much easier,” he said, in comments on the workshop which were released to the media by the chamber.
The pharma industry has dealings with the state sector health annually worth billions of rupees in supplying much-needed drugs and other medication. Occasionally it has faced accusations of bribery and corruption in the alleged manipulation of tenders.
Ms. D. G. Chandrika, Director of Public Finance at the Ministry of Finance, who conducted the workshop, enlightened those present on the key principles of procurement guidelines, the process, cycle and plan and the standards for bidding documents. Following these guidelines are essential for those in the industry to procure the most cost–provide effective pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the right quantities, ensure supplier reliability with respect to service and quality, arrange timely delivery to avoid shortage and stock outs, and achieve the lowest possible evaluated cost.