The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has called for comprehensive report/comments from the Administrator, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Lahore, on a complaint forwarded to PPRA by Transparency International Pakistan, regarding "request for proposal" by Secretary, Project & Planning, DHA, Lahore, for DHA cinema.
The information has been called by PPRA under the powers vested under section 5(2)(i) of PPRA Ordinance, 2002 for necessary action. Transparency International Pakistan considers the request against PPR 2004.
Advisor, Transparency International Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani in a letter sent to the Administrator, DHA, Lahore, has objected to the fact that DHA has made no mention about the pre-qualification documents or bidding documents to be collected by bidders in the advertisement placed in the newspapers, which is a violation of PPR 2004. The rules state as under: Pre-qualification process: The procuring agency shall provide a set of pre-qualification documents to any supplier or contractor, on request and subject to payment of prices, if any.
Bidding documents: Procuring agencies shall formulate precise and unambiguous bidding documents that shall be made available to the bidders immediately after the publication of the invitation to bid. Transparency International Pakistan had pointed out similar violations of PPR 2004 by DHA Lahore earlier in January 2011.
It is important to note that a minimum period of 15 days is mandatory to submit applications from the date of publication of advertisement notice in press, whereas DHA Lahore had given only nine days, which is a violation of PPR 2004. The rule says as under:
Response time: The procuring agency may decide the response time for receipt of bids or proposals (including proposals for pre-qualification) from the date of publication of an advertisement or notice, keeping in view the individual procurement's complexity, availability and urgency. However, under no circumstances the response time shall be less than 15 days for national competitive bidding and 30 days for international competitive bidding from the date of publication of advertisement or notice.
In his letter, Adil has also referred to General Headquarters, AG's Branch (W&R Dte), Rawalpindi, letter dated February 15, 2011, addressed to HQ 4 Corps, Housing Societies Cell, HQ 5 Corps, DHA Cell, Administrator DHA Islamabad, Administrators DHA Karachi and Lahore through which it has forwarded Minister of Defence letter No 2/2/D18/2009 dated January 31, 2011 for compliance, stating that "the PPRA rules must be observed in their perspective in letter and spirit while making procurements. Violation of those rules will be viewed seriously and Head of Department/Organisation will be held responsible for the same."
He said that the above information is forwarded for the purpose of avoiding the misprocurement charge under Rule No 50, and with request to re-invite the tender under the prescribed procedures. "Transparency International Pakistan is striving to have Rule of Law in Pakistan," Adil said.
Copies of the letter have been sent for information and necessary action under the law of Pakistan to: Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Chairman, National Accountability Bureau, Registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Auditor General of Pakistan, and Managing Director, PPRA.