Transparent Bidding Process
OFWMP developed the innovative procurement system as an integral part of their project management system after identifying a major weakness in the process. “In 2011, when we started OFWMP, we did not have the capacity to complete our projects on time” explains Homayun, Procurement Specialist at OFWMP. “Once we realized this was a big weakness, we developed a modern procurement system that has now won this prestigious award. The transparent system reduces time wastage and weeds out corruption, two of the biggest roadblocks to successful, timely and efficient procurement.”
The new procurement system has reduced the survey and design phase time from 219 days to 59 days, and the finalizing and awarding of contracts from 165 days to 76 days. The quick turnaround, has boosted the number bidders/contractors. Contractors, like Sattar, feel encouraged to bid for various work packages of the project. “OFWMP has a transparent procurement system, which saves processing time across the entire value chain and enables contractors to complete the contracts on time,” says Sattar, 35, Director of a construction company. Sattar’s company was awarded a contract to complete the Bota Zar irrigation canal in Hase-e-Dowam district in Kapisa Province. “I hope to see this kind of system in every governmental project, since it makes the bidding process transparent and encourages the private sector to participate in biddings without any fear,” he adds.
Visible Increase in Efficiency
With a $70 million grant from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), OFWMP works through five regional offices across Afghanistan—Kabul, Nangarhar (Jalalabad), Mazar-i-Sharif (Balkh), Baghlan, and Herat. The project is scheduled to run until 2019.
To date, OFWMP has surveyed and designed over 170 irrigation contracts, 86 of which have been completed. In 2016 alone, when the new procurement system was implemented, OFWMP worked on 90 active sites, with 12 now completed, while the rest are in the survey, design, or procurement phases.
The modern procurement system has enabled the project to achieve its objectives.
Ali, 54, a farmer in Kapisa Province, agrees that the quick turnaround of an irrigation contract last year has been of great benefit. “We are very happy and satisfied that OFWMP paved our irrigation canal in only four months,” he says. Ali is a beneficiary of the newly paved Bota Zar irrigation canal. He adds, “I thought I would not be able to cultivate all my land this year because of the paving, but it was completed very quickly and I managed to cultivate my two hectares of land in 2016 too.”
Smart Implementation is Next Step
Winning the award has made the project team more enthused to push forward with the right kind of innovation, to get more done, better and faster. OFWMP is now in the process of developing and implementing a smart Procurement Management Information System (PMIS), which is expected to make project implementation easier and more transparent.
“PMIS is an end-to-end system that will help us save time at all levels of decision-making—right from project selection to survey and design monitoring, to procurement, contract management and invoice tracking,” says Pervaiz, Project Manager. “Through this system we will easily track, by clicks on our computer, how much work has been done and how much more time is needed.”
The reforms in OFWMP are part of a wider thrust by the government to improve governance to prevent corruption. “The Government of Afghanistan is extremely grateful to the award’s jury for selecting OFWMP,” says Yama, National Procurement Authority (NPA). “Bringing about reforms in the OFWMP procurement system is one of the many steps the government is taking to improve and, most importantly, ensure transparent procurement processes to mitigate corruption risks in Afghanistan. The government is committed to introducing and implementing yet more robust procurement systems and processes to minimize potential corruption.”
