Features

National Procurement Commission – Justice Minister’s comments

Published

4 years ago

2020/09/11

By Dr. Janaka Ratnasiri

In an interview held in one of the TV channels on 07.09.2020 ending at midnight, Justice Minister Ali Sabry said that the National Procurement Commission (NPC), established among the several independent commissions under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, has not served any useful purpose during the 5 years of its existence and is a redundant organization. Perhaps during his short tenure as the Justice Minister, he appears to have not grasped the importance of the NPC and hence this write up.

NEED FOR PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES

Sri Lanka’s budget for 2019 has been LKR 2,365 Billion for capital and LKR 2,178 Billion for recurrent expenditure according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka Annual Report for 2018 (Table 100). Other than the payments on salaries and interest & capital repayment on loans, the rest will have to be spent on procuring goods and services both by the government institutions and semi-government institutions. Hence, it is important that there are norms and guidelines in place for incurring such expenditure to ensure that public funds are not siphoned out either by officials or by suppliers.

Originally, the Department of Public Finance (DPF) functioning under the Treasury played the role of managing the expenditure in public sector organizations and had the responsibility for a sound public finance regulatory framework which improves transparency, accountability and service delivery in the public sector. The DPF has issued several guidelines for the benefit of public sector organizations outlining procedures and methodologies for the procurement of goods and services.

However, media reports reveal that more often than not, public sector organizations act in violation of these guidelines causing millions of rupee losses to the government. One reason may be that DPF lacks a mechanism to monitor whether these organizations strictly follow these guidelines or not. Any shortfalls generally come to light only when their finances are audited when it is too late to take any corrective measures.

NATIONAL PROCUREMENT COMMISSION

Realizing the need to have a strong body to monitor procurements amounting to several thousands of billions of rupees annually being undertaken by various government ministries, departments, as well by semi-government organizations including statutory boards, commissions, authorities, universities, banks and government owned commercial enterprises, the government established in 2015 the National Procurement Commission as an independent commission. It is the sole authority for the governance of all procurement activities by Government Institutions.

This was included as one among the nine independent commissions established under the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution (NAC) of Sri Lanka. The NAC Act describes the constitution, functions and powers vested on the NPC. However, as lamented by the Justice Minister, during the last five years of its existence one cannot be satisfied that it was effective in streamlining procurement procedures and in monitoring the procurements being made in government organizations as provided for in the NAC Act.

CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONS

The NPC comprises five members appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council (CC), of whom at least three members shall be persons who have had proven experience in procurement, accountancy, law or public administration. The President shall, on the recommendation of the CC, appoint one member as the Chairman of the NPC. The NAC Act has assigned the following functions to the NPC.

(1) It shall be the function of the Commission to formulate fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective procedures and guidelines, for the procurement of goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems by government institutions and cause such guidelines to be published in the Gazette and within three months of such publication, to be placed before Parliament.

(2) It shall be the function of the Commission to:

(a) monitor and report to the appropriate authorities, on whether all procurement of goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems by government institutions are based on procurement plans prepared in accordance with previously approved action plans;

(b) monitor and report to the appropriate authorities on whether all qualified bidders for the provision of goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems by government institutions are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the bidding process for the provision of those goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems;

(c) monitor and report to the appropriate authorities on whether the procedures for the selection of contractors, and the awarding of contracts for the provision of goods and services, works, consultancy services and information systems to government institutions, are fair and transparent; and

(d) report on whether members of Procurement Committees and Technical Evaluation Committees relating to the procurements, appointed by government institutions are suitably qualified; and

(e) investigate reports of procurements made by government institutions outside established procedures and guidelines, and to report the officers responsible for such procurements to the relevant authorities for necessary action.

EXERCISING THE FUNCTIONS UNDER THE NPC

Though the functions of the NPC are clearly laid down in the NAC Act as listed above, the NPC does not appear to exercise them when public sector organizations procure goods or services. This may be due to the fact the NPC has not published any gazette notifications announcing any regulations that other public sector organizations are bound to follow when making procurements. The NPC does not seem to voluntarily monitor procurement processes in other organizations though it has the mandate to perform that function. This was evident from their response to a query made by the writer with regard to procurements undertaken by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The CEB has been attempting to procure thermal power plants with capacity 300 MW in the recent past which have not been finalized yet. It is noteworthy that such a power plant will cost around USD 300 million or LKR 50 billion. The writer pointed out in several of his writings in the Island (28.03.2019, 19.08.2019 & 03.10.2019) the shortcomings in their procurement process that has caused delays in finalizing the procurements. The CEB is also planning to procure a coal power plant of capacity 300 MW from China without going through the approved procurement guidelines despite the fact that the procurement involves such a large sum of money.

Several months ago, the writer brought this to the attention of the NPC inquiring whether NPC has monitored these procurements as mandated in the Act. The response the writer received was that the NPC would inquire into such cases only if they receive an official request from the relevant Ministry! This is an absurd situation, because one cannot expect the Ministry to make such a request when the Ministry itself is a party responsible for the delays.

Obviously, the Commission has not understood their mission and it is necessary to have a set of new members who understand their mission and motivated to exercise their authority without fear and favour. Enforcing guidelines on procurements worth several thousands or millions of rupees will not serve the purpose of having such a set of guidelines, if the guidelines are overlooked in the case of high-value procurements. If the NPC has not been effective in the past, the solution is to change its management rather than closing down the organization.

CURRENT PROCEDURE IN PROCUREMENT

For the purpose of procuring high value goods and services, several Procurement Committees (PC) are appointed to handle the procurement process and for the determination of contract award.

A department or an institute after identifying the need to make a procurement, a request is made to the Treasury through the relevant Ministry for budgetary allocation for the procurement along with a statement justifying the procurement. Thereafter a Technical Devaluation Committee (TEC) is appointed with the concurrence of the Ministry who will draft the specifications for the procurement. It is important that this is done carefully not making it too stringent or too general. Generally, a member from an outside organization with relevant expertise is included in the TEC.

The procurement division of the organization will then prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) incorporating the specifications and other tender requirements such as specifying bid bonds and procurement bonds. Depending on the value of the procurement, Ministry Procurement Committee (MPC) and a Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC) will be appointed who are expected to screen the RFP to ensure that it does not favour a particular supplier. The RFP should also be written in simple language giving only the essential information so that the bid evaluation could be carried out expeditiously. Tenders with complicated RFPs invariably will end up in court cases. Once approved, the RFP is published in the media calling for proposals.

The functions of the NPC as listed above would require that the composition of the PCs and TECs as well as the RFP documents are approved by the NPC to ensure that members of the PCs are suitably qualified and also all qualified bidders are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the bidding process, as required under the functions of the NPC. The author believes that this process does not happen now probably because there are no regulations gazetted by the NPC to that effect. This is one of the failures of NPC that needs to be rectified.

The bids received are first evaluated by the TEC and those meeting the specifications and other tender conditions are forwarded to the MPC and depending on the value of the tender, submitted to the CAPC as well. In making the final recommendation, compliance with specifications is given priority while taking note of the value of the bid offered as well as the suitability of the bidder for supplying the item or providing the service requested. If an unsuccessful bidder is not satisfied with the decision for the award, he may appeal to a standing Appeals Board requesting reconsideration of the evaluation.

CABINET INVOLVEMENT IN AWARDING CONTRACTS

It is the general practice today to seek the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for bids worth above a certain limit. If one peruses the list of Cabinet decisions published weekly, it is noted that a significant number of decisions reported in every Cabinet meeting are in respect of approvals for awarding contracts for construction of buildings for the government including hospitals, Divisional Secretariats, schools, universities and other infrastructure facilities. Is this the function of the Cabinet of Ministers? Shouldn’t they spend their time on more important issues of national level?

The author would like to propose that the function of granting approvals for high-value contracts be vested with the NPC, relieving the Ministers of this responsibility. Afterall, the Cabinet cannot independently check the papers submitted to it for suitability of the item or whether correct procedures have been followed in selecting the successful bidder or not but have to depend on the recommendations of the CAPC.

On the other hand, if this responsibility is given to the NPC, it can independently verify whether the correct selection has been made after proper evaluation following the published procurement guidelines or not. Where necessary, NPC could co-opt outside experts for this purpose. However, one pre-requisite that needs to be followed is to have officers of the highest integrity to undertake such work.

Seeking cabinet approval may be limited to cases of large national scale developmental projects as well as on policy issues pertaining to procurements rather than granting approval for routine construction work. The Cabinet has no capability to verify whether the estimated costs are correct or not. It is best to leave it to the NPC.

CONCLUSION

Though the functions assigned to the NPC include monitoring and reporting to the appropriate authorities whether proper procedures have been followed in the procurement process undertaken by public sector organizations or not, the NPC has not been exercising this function adequately, probably due to want of commitment or lack of understanding of its functions by the Commission members. Hence, there is a need to have a more committed set of Commission members to make the NPC more effective rather than disbanding it.

In the event the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is repealed while introducing the 20th Amendment, it is still worth retaining the NPC by passing a separate Act of Parliament with more powers assigned to it. The NPC should be given powers to examine procurement processes undertaken by public sector organizations on its own initiative and to grant approval for high-value tenders, in addition to its current functions including monitoring.

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Features

International Day of Democracy posers for the South

Published

20 hours ago

2024/09/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Supporters of Donald Trump storming the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

September 15th marked International Day of Democracy and the aptness of reflecting on the future of democracy could not be stressed more at this juncture. The urgency of addressing this question is underscored by no less an incident of grave import than the recent second attempt, within just a few months, on the life of US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, besides other developments.

The apparent repeat attempt on the life of Trump by a lone gunman should ideally have the effect of alerting supporters of democracy the world over to the need to continually strengthen the values, processes and institutions that would ensure the continuance of this unique governance system. To begin with, globe-wide forces of democracy need to come together to unitedly voice a strong ‘No’ to the use of political violence within and outside democracies.

This is a matter that should not be treated as merely pertaining to the domestic politics of the US. If an attempt is being made to stymie democratic processes within the world’s ‘mightiest democracy’ through the use of murderous violence, the observer could not be faulted for taking the position that no state professing to be democratic could rest assured that it is free of the scourge of lurking, anti-systemic violence.

Since Sri Lanka will be conducting yet another presidential poll come September 21, it would need to take notable cognizance of the multiple dangers confronting democracy. As this is being written, reports have surfaced of a political killing and other forms of lawlessness in the country’s provinces, although the latter are of a sporadic nature currently. This ought to be a reminder that, although Sri Lanka is seen in some quarters as a successful democracy, it is a very fragile one. Democratic processes within it are in constant need of strengthening and consolidation.

Needless to say, Sri Lanka has been time and again witness to ‘nation-breaking’ violence. The 30-year, humanly highly costly ‘anti-LTTE’ war was one of these manifestations of runaway violence that could have torn the country apart. Yet, the totality of causes that led to the war remains apparently unrecognized by governments and sections of the public, rendering Sri Lanka’s democracy several-fold more fragile.

If Lankan governments are seeking a durable answer to ‘nation-breaking’ violence, there are specific democratic measures that could be taken by them to effectively manage such disruptions. One of these is substantive power devolution to the country’s North-East. Despite Sri Lanka arriving at what is considered a landmark presidential poll, this need is yet to be addressed notably.

The security forces’ military victory over the LTTE in 2009 has bred a sense of complacency among Sri Lanka’s power and social elites, which fosters the belief that the country is free of separatist violence forever, but this could prove a dangerous illusion in the absence of a durable political solution to the ethnic conflict. This state of mind is fraught with risks, considering that the roots of the conflict are remaining unaddressed.

In the case of the second attempt on Trump’s life, the world is confronted with a disquieting irony. This is on account of the fact that no less a political actor than Trump himself encouraged anarchic tendencies within the US by initially turning a blind eye on them and by even inciting his supporters to seize control of the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, subsequent to his defeat at the hands of Joe Biden at the last presidential election. For example, he is on record as telling the US public that the ‘election had been stolen from him.’

This amounts to a gross subversion of the democratic process and to date Trump evinces no signs of his deeply regretting his supporters’ anarchic violence, although he went back on some of his initial pronouncements. Thus has democracy been undermined by a US President himself.

Besides making the democratic system of governance a laughing stock of authoritarian states, such as Russia and China, Trump has given anti-democratic forces the world over a huge fillip by failing to unreservedly accept the result of the last US presidential poll, which was seen by the relevant authorities as free of blemish.

However, the damage to democracy stemming from Trump’s incitement of anarchic violence, could be considered as already having been done in the case of the weaker democracies of the South. The admirers of Trump are far and wide and there is no doubt that they would be already seeing the violent overthrow of a democratically-constituted state as legitimate.

The appeal of populist and authoritarian political personalities, such as Donald Trump, within Southern polities should be considered quite extensive in view of the fact that the majority of the latter states are prone to personalism; that is, the irrational glorification of political leaders by the masses.

This could be seen as a Fatal Cleopatra of democratically-deficient Southern states. To the extent to which they uncritically acclaim populist political leaders in particular, to the same extent do they weaken their democratic institutions and associated value systems. The answer to this is the growth of a vibrant democratic culture which is a long-gestation project that needs to be nourished over decades.

The induction of technocratic elites into governance is not necessarily the solution to this deep-seated problem in the South. These elites could help in the economic growth process to a degree, but the fostering of democratic cultures could be made possible by only those visionary leaders who place at the heart of their development schemes social and economic equity in the truest sense. Thus far, with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi of India, it is difficult to identify any Southern leader in post-independence times who could be considered as having been a catalyst in substantive democratic development; which is essentially all about combining growth with equity.

Hopefully, these Southern polities would think deeply on these matters, going forward. A broad-based, deeply humanistic and secular education could be considered as essential to the building of Gandhi-type visionary leaders with broad sympathies. This undertaking could no longer be postponed by Southern states desirous of fostering democratic governance.

The issue is; could Sri Lanka be considered as equal to this challenge? Unfortunately, the answer at the moment is ‘No’. None of its ‘leaders’ vying for the presidency, for instance, has conceived of development for their country in strictly the above terms. We need to begin with humanity or ‘Reverence for Life’ and there don’t seem to be takers for this among Sri Lanka’s ‘leaders’.

Features

Love being unique than perfect

Published

20 hours ago

2024/09/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Chit-Chat
Udani Senanayake

1. Tell me something about yourself:

Well, I’m 22 and the youngest in my family of four – that’s mom, dad and my elder brother. I’m currently an undergraduate at the University of Kelaniya, studying Microbiology, and I also work with BK Model Management as a model. I would like to consider myself as a seeker … I’m a curious person about life, nature and our existence. I am a believer in humanity and I always focus on refraining myself from judging people, and accept the diversity among each of us.

02. What made you decide to be a model?

I really had a passion for the fashion industry, and modelling, from a very young age and, in 2022, I won the title of Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Earth and that gave me the encouragement to start modelling … professionally.

03. What do you think sets you apart from other models?

I think I am blessed to have a kind of a mixed race look and this helps me as a model as I can adapt my looks to suit the occasion and I am certain I have never failed to satisfy the crew I’m working with.

04. What clothing do you prefer to model?

I love trying out different clothing styles … apart from lingerie.

05. What do you think is the most important aspect of modelling?

I would say respect and appreciation. The beauty scene has widened and the industry has expanded. Maintaining a mutual understanding and avoiding making others to feel uncomfortable is important.

06. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

So far, nothing, I would say. None of us are perfect and I believe that makes ourselves unique. I would love being unique than being perfect.

07. School?

I am from Anuradhapura and I completed my primary education at Swarnapali Girls’ College and then, up to the Advanced level, I studied at Central College Anuradhapura. I was privileged to be the school captain, and I represented my school as a student parliament. I was a member of the school soccer team. I did music and stage drama, as well. I was able to bring fame to my school from oratory, singing and drama competitions. I must say I did almost everything one could do during their school time.

08. Happiest moment?

I can’t pick one particular moment because I always try to find myself something that makes me happy in every situation. But the day I got selected to do Microbiology was a really special one.

09. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

When we stop trying to find happiness from others we will have perfect happiness.

10. Your ideal guy?

A guy with a pleasant smile is an ideal type. And, of course, a person who can smoothly adapt to the different phases in life and someone who would never get bored of me and appreciate me all the time. I love a simple, kind and a caring person.

11. Which living person do you most admire?

My mom, of course. She’s the strongest person I’ve seen in the whole world. I believe the strength and vision I have with me is from her. She never restricted me from experiencing the world; she always had faith in me, and what I am today it’s all because of her. She always guided me to bring out the best in me.

12. Which is your most treasured possession?

It’s my heart. I would try my best to keep it healthy and happy. I do have a big heart to help the world and I must treasure it in order to do better things.

13. If you were marooned on a desert island, who would you like as your companion?

It would be my partner because I won’t feel bored and I will feel secured.

14. Your most embarrassing moment?

Well, I’m not so good at initiating a conversation, and I often feel embarrassed of asking wired stuff from strangers.

15. Done anything daring?

Many … but I’ll mention the time I represented my country at the Miss Earth International competition. Winning the title was unexpected because I participated in the pageant to get some experience and to polish up myself to initiate my passion for modelling. I’m from a really normal family and the time period I had to prepare for the pageant was less than one month. I had to find the expenses, design my clothing and train myself within that short period. I had no sponsors and I didn’t have any connections in the field to seek help at that point in time. I couldn’t afford to have a personal trainer, or hire expensive attires, and I had to do it all alone, with the help of my family. I was young, alone and I had zero experience but somehow with the encouragement I got from my family, and my closest friends, I was able to participate in the international competition, in the Philippines, and, honestly, I received lots of love over there and it gave me all the confidence I needed. Sometimes I still can’t imagine that I did it.

16. Your ideal vacation?

Somewhere, with good food, closer to nature, and away from many people. I don’t prefer going on a vacation alone so, of course, if I have my loved ones with me it would be ideal.

17. What kind of music are you into?

I don’t have anything specific. Let’s say it depends on my mood.

18. Favourite radio station?

Sorry, I don’t listen to the radio. No time for radio.

19. Favourite TV station?

Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation because I used to work there as a news anchor. I got the opportunity of learning things in this field and my confidence, in front of the camera, was boosted … thanks to the time I worked there.

20. Any major plans for the future?

I am planning to pursue my career in Microbiology, after graduating. I will continue doing my best to stabilise myself in the modelling industry, as well. I will work for my advocacy, I initiated, during my time as Miss Sri Lanka Earth, with the help of the exposure I get, through my modelling career.

Features

Sugar scrub

Published

20 hours ago

2024/09/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

Yes, it’s scrub time, this week, too, as lots of readers did indicate to me that they would like to see a few more body scrub beauty tips. Okay, here we go then…

You will need 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup extra virgin or regular olive oil.

In an air tight storage container, pour in the olive oil and scoop in the brown sugar and mix well, with a fork or metal spoon. Make sure to smash out the clumps. The mixture is now ready when it looks like wet sand.

This scrub can be used anywhere that you are having dry skin issues or want to just do a great exfoliation on. Apply a small amount of the sugar scrub to the area and begin lightly massaging it in circles. You don’t need to press down hard or apply much pressure to this scrub as the granules from the sugar will work to get the dead skin off. By simply massaging it into the area for a few seconds and rinsing it under warm water in the shower, your skin will feel silky and soft.

If using it on the feet, simply soak your feet in the bathtub, while sitting on the edge, for about 10 minutes or so. Then use the scrub and rinse

Use this scrub once a week if applying to the same area, and not more than that, especially if used on the face or other sensitive areas. You can use it up to 02-03 times a week on rough extra dry skin areas of the body, such as feet, elbows, hands, or knees. Store the mixture in an air-tight container and keep in a cool dry place. This recipe will keep for up to three months. By the way, the oil might rise to the top of the sugar. If this happens, simply take a spoon and stir to mix it up before using.