WB approves $1.5 m grant (Economy)

New Delhi, June 11: The World Bank Tuesday approved a US$1.5 million grant to Bhutan to improve its national public procurement system.

According to a statement from the bank, the Institutional Capacity Building Project for Procurement will create an up-to-date national procurement system recognized by international partners as standard and adequate for all procurement whether for the national budget or donor-financed projects.

The statement further said, positive outcomes produced through more efficient, effective, fair, and transparent procurement, such as increased accountability, value for money, and budgetary savings, are expected to have an impact on achieving other goals, including rapid economic growth, promoting private sector growth, and improving quality of life.

The statement quoted Dimitri De Pues, task leader for the project, “Procurement requires a variety of skills to enable procurement officers to use the framework of rules and regulations to make informed decisions and work to guarantee optimal results.”

“This project will focus on building the capacity of national institutions in Bhutan responsible for training people on public procurement, thus making it sustainable and creating a professional procurement cadre of civil servants,” he said.

The bank said main objective of the project is to establish the standards required for a body of procurement professionals and to establish a qualifications and training program to support the future development of these professionals.

The project will also look to further develop knowledge and procurement practice throughout the country through the creation of networks, communities of practice, events, and conferences focusing on key procurement topics and studies. Bhutan News Service