Qatar is committed to transparency in tenders

10/13/2015 9:49:04 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani Minister of Economy and Commerce speaking during a workshop on ‘Competition protection and collusion combat in public procurement’ by the Ministry of Economy in Doha yesterday. Kammutty VP

DOHA: H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani Minister of Economy and Commerce has stated Qatar is committed to strengthening its institutions to ensure there is absolute transparency in its public tendering process. Qatar is keen on ‘competition protection’ and combating collusion in public procurement the minister said.

Delivering opening address at the two- day international workshop on ‘Competition protection and collusion combat in public procurement’ being organised by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce here yesterday Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim noted the combined value of general tenders accounts for a major share of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Enhancing the efficiency of the public tendering process therefore is important for any local economy.

Qatar has already issued a law (No 19 2006) for competition protection and prevention of monopoly practices. A committee has already been in place for ‘competition protection’.

In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 the ministry is keen on further strengthening the country’s investment environment he said.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim said the workshop will help all stakeholders understand the appropriate mechanisms to stimulate competition and anti-manipulation in tenders and help identify the most important indicators of collusive behaviour. The workshop will also shed light on how to work with authorities specialised in anti-competitive combat.

Earlier the Ministry of Economy and Commerce said in a note that public procurement accounts for up to 25-30 per cent of GDP in developing countries and for approximately 15 percent of GDP in OECD countries. In this sense competition is a fundamental factor in the tendering process.

The Ministry stated the tendering process is of utmost importance since it sets the framework that regulates the purchases of government entities. Therefore promoting competition in tenders and bids protects the interests of all parties as the government or awarding entity benefits from completion among bidders to ensure it gets the best price in line with the required technical specification.

The opening day saw panel discussion on “Competition issues in public procurement” ‘Methods to detect cartel and bid rigging cases” and “Designing a government-wide programme to promote completion and fight bid rigging”.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammad Al Thani Chairman Qatar Chamber; Saif Said Al Sowaidi member of competition protection committee Qatar University vice president for Institutional planning and development; Alexis Brunelle French Competition Authority; Despina Pachonu from OECD Khaled El Arbi Tunisian High Authority of Public Procurement; and Abdulaziz Zaid Al Taleb Qatar Central Tenders Department were among others who addressed various sessions on the opening day.

The Peninsula

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.