| Syazwani Hj Rosli |
BIDDING, or more widely known as tendering, is an important process in public procurement which aims to ensure food value for money, the efficient use of government resources and prudent government spending, said Permanent Secretary (Economy) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE) Dr Hajah May Fa’ezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin.
She made these comments during an advocacy session on ‘Public Procurement and Bid Rigging’ at the MoFE’s Theatre Hall yesterday.
“Unfortunately, we cannot assume that the competition process comes naturally. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) and many studies have reported that bid-rigging can increase the costs of goods and services up to 20 per cent, or more. In developing countries, the added cost could be 35 per cent to 55 per cent higher,” she said in her welcoming remarks at the session, organised by the MoFE’s Department of Economic Planning and Development, through the Department of Competition and Consumer Affairs.
The session was attended by the Chairman and members of the Competition Commission of Brunei Darussalam; members and secretariat of the State Tender Board, as well as Mini Tender Boards from various ministries; counsels from the Attorney General’s Chambers; and senior officials from the Department of Economic Planning and Development.
Dr Hajah May Fa’ezah said Brunei Darussalam’s economy is still largely dependent on government-driven projects:
“In 2017, the estimate of public procurement activity is valued at around 19 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is a significant proportion, which deserves attention, as it has implications, on not only to a well-functioning government which can efficiently use resources, but also the efficiency of the sectors involved in the supply chain from inputs to outcomes.
“These activities have implications to a well-functioning economy. It is therefore important to be aware, while learning to detect and prevent rigging in a tender of collusive bidding, which may result in inflated prices, as well as goods and services with lower quality. When bid-rigging impacts public procurement, it may cause great harm to the government expenditure.
“Hence, it is important to learn and be aware of bid-rigging conducts, to counteract its risk to safeguard our government expenditure,” she said.
The session also saw a presentation delivered by former head of the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and a senior fellow at the University of Melbourne Dr Hassan Qaqaya.
With decades of experience in the competition and consumer protection field, Dr Hassan recommended transparency to enhance efficiency in the public procurement process, as well as the need for capacity-building and training for government officials involved in the procurement of goods and services.
He also suggested exploring the use of e-procurement and other technologies, to prevent collusive tendering.