• Cabinet panel clears PPRA Ordinance changes
• New rules to feature independent grievance redressal mechanism, gallop tendering
• EPADS e-procurement rolled out to over 9,300 agencies

ISLAMABAD: Amid persistent complaints about federal and provincial procurements, the government is set to amend the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Ordinance and its subordinate rules to mandate continuous third-party monitoring of tenders and establish an independent grievance redressal system, aiming to improve transparency and public trust.

PPRA Managing Director Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi told a news briefing that the amendments — framed “in line with the prime minister’s vision for transparency, efficiency and good governance” — had been finalised and cleared by the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) for formal cabinet approval.

He said the amendments pertained to a couple of definitional matters and four or five systematic improvements. He added that the revised PPRA Rules 2025 were in the final stage of approval. “The new rules will feature an independent grievance redressal mechanism, gallop tendering, reduced response times, expert accreditation, third-party evaluation and clearly defined roles for procuring agencies,” Mr Qureshi said.

He said procurement cells staffed with trained professionals were also being established in federal government procuring agencies to oversee planning, market analysis, bid preparation and contract management.

The PPRA chief said the legal changes through the ordinance and rules would entail improved accountability to minimise pilferage and leakages in public monies, as transparency was one of the key challenges, and beneficiaries of the weak systems would not like to close these loopholes.

He dispelled a common excuse by procurement agencies about their autonomy and donor funding to avoid PPRA rules, stressing that there was no such exemption even in organisations that involved a single rupee at the time of their creation, while the public had to pay for foreign loans and assistance. In unusual circumstances, such exemptions have to be provided by the government under well-defined parameters.

Mr Qureshi said the country’s public procurement landscape was already transforming with the introduction of an e-procurement system, ongoing regulatory reforms, and the launch of a robust capacity-building programme for procurement professionals, under which PPRA provided training to procurement agencies.

He highlighted the global significance of procurement reform, noting that public procurement accounted for 15-20 per cent of GDP in developing countries, with global procurement valued at around $13 trillion.

“Manual procurement systems are prone to inefficiencies and leakages, whereas e-procurement offers savings of up to 25pc, as reported by the Asian Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development,” he added.

At the heart of PPRA’s digital transformation was the implementation of e-Pakistan Acquisition and Disposal System (EPADS), a fully digitised platform that offers free supplier registration, real-time alerts, customised bidding documents, dynamic bid evaluation, and end-to-end digitisation of procurement processes.

“Since its launch in March 2023, EPADS has been rolled out across 9,314 federal and provincial procuring agencies, including key ministries and departments,” Mr Qureshi said.

He said the PPRA had signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and federal entities, including Nadra, FBR and SECP, to facilitate real-time data integration and regulatory compliance.

“To date, 39,553 suppliers, including 527 foreign firms, 1,792 women-led enterprises and 4,044 small and medium enterprises have registered on EPADS,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025