Tender Board, Kingdom of Bahrain

The effectiveness and efficiency of the Board’s Quality Management System was confirmed in 2006 by the achievement of accreditation to the International Standard ISO 9001:2000.

The Tender Board’s fully documented system covers tender preparation, bid submission, the opening and awarding of tenders, reviews and complaints, staff training and development, and Board-related purchases. Workshops were held during the year to increase staff awareness and understanding of the Board’s quality management policies, procedures and processes.

Tenders and bids opened

The number of tenders opened up to the end of December 2006 totalled 4,771 (2006: 1,327; 2005: 1,245; 2004: 1,114; 2003: 1,085) while the number of bids opened totalled 26,850 (2006: 6,439; 2005: 7,079; 2004:7,354; 2003: 5,978). The estimated value of all tenders for which bids were opened amounted to BD 2,317 million (2006: 624 million; 2005: BD 651 million; 2004: BD 587 million; 2003: BD 454 million).

Tenders awarded

A total of 5,653 tenders were officially awarded up to the end of December 2006 (2006: 1,703; 2005: 1,422;2004: 1,386; 2003: 1,142) with a total value of BD 1,942 million (2006: 683 million; 2005: BD 640 million;2004: BD 243 million; 2003: BD 213 million).

Savings in public sector purchasing budgets

Significant savings in government purchasing budgets were achieved up to the end of December 2006 totaling to BD 113 million. In 2006 the total value of tenders awarded was less than the budget appropriations allocated to them by BD 38 million (2005: BD 25 million; 2004: BD 23 million; 2003: BD 27 million).

Speed of decision making

The Board’s databank maintains records of all government tenders and purchases, and also supports the decision making process by Members, as well as enabling speedy follow-up of issuing and awarding of tenders. Latest statistics confirm that the Board undertakes the study of recommendations, makes the appropriate decisions, and responds to the purchasing authorities, in a period not exceeding two weeks for over 90 per cent of cases.

E-tendering system

The Tender Board continued to advance its plans to develop a fully fledged electronic tendering system (e-tendering) to manage all tenders and government purchases online. This system will help in announcing bids, receiving documents, opening bids, and announcing tender awards. Following the completion of all necessary documentation for this project, a Request for Proposal was issued in 2006.

The use of e-tendering in other parts of the world has already illustrated its ability to reduce administrative costs and processing time, as well as increasing the quality and transparency of decision making, and reducing the number of complaints. The adoption of e-tendering by the Tender Board is an important element of the planned introduction of e-government by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Business process re-engineering

Following the signing of a contract with a leading management consultancy firm in 2005, a pilot study for reengineering the Board’s tendering procedures and processes was completed during 2006. The aim is to streamline and speed up the entire tendering process by re-arranging and removing all non-value-adding procedures. The recommendations of the pilot study, which involved the Ministry of Works and Housing, and the Ministry of Electricity and Water, are currently being implemented. These include the adoption of the most appropriate communications and information technology for reducing both time and costs of processes and procedures.

Communications

The Board strives to maintain continuous contact with contractors and suppliers, as well as with government departments covered by the Law Regulating Government Tenders and Purchases. Accordingly, the Tender Board organised educational presentations for those ministries, authorities and bodies covered by the provisions of the Law. During these presentations, all rules, regulations and matters related to the tender and purchasing processes and procedures were explained. Meetings were also held with suppliers and contractors at a symposium at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during which new procedures for the pre-qualification of contractors were discussed. In addition, the Tender Board accepted invitations from foreign embassies and professional societies to explain the rules and procedures applicable to the Government's tenders and purchases.

The Board continued to ensure transparency by publishing information regarding its activities in the press, and conducting interviews with newspapers and other media. Representatives of some purchasing bodies covered by the Law were also invited to attend meetings of the Tender Board to clarify issues related to tendering procedures and recommendations for awards, and also to elucidate the basis on which some tenders are evaluated, so that the Board may be better equipped to adopt appropriate decisions.

Website

During 2006, the Board made excellent progress in its plan to introduce a new, improved website, in line with its commitment to continually enhance transparency and disclosure. The new website, which is expected to go live in early 2007, will provide improved information about the weekly list of tenders that have been opened, as well as those that will be opened, along with dates for each tender. It will also contain the official announcements that purchasing parties advertise in the local media. This will enable all concerned parties to better plan their attendance at the opening sessions, and be assured of the soundness of the procedures for opening tenders. All information posted on the website is made available in both Arabic and English. This includes the text of the Law on Regulating Government Tenders and Purchases and its Implementing Regulations, both in summarised form and in full detail, as well as other helpful information.

Transparency

The Tender Board adheres scrupulously to the principles of transparency, integrity, fairness, and equal opportunity in the application of the provisions of the Law. It insists on opening the tender bids in weekly public sessions, the dates of which are announced in advance on the Internet and in the press. The bid opening sessions are conducted under the supervision of the Tender Board, and the public weekly sessions are attended by contractors, suppliers participating in the tenders or their representatives, representatives from the concerned ministries, and members of the media and the general public. All final awards are published in the Official Gazette, in the press, and on the Board’s official website.

Meetings of the Board

In line with the importance that the Tender Board places on avoiding delays in tendering procedures, it holds lengthy weekly meetings in an uninterrupted sequence. Since its inception in 2003, the Tender Board has held a total of 196 weekly meetings. During these meetings, various matters and procedures related to government tenders and purchases are discussed. All correspondence to the Tender Board is also reviewed and studied, and the appropriate decisions are made.

Subcommittees

The Tender Board has established four specialist subcommittees comprising distinguished local professionals and experts. These subcommittees assist the Board in dealing with the pre-qualification of contractors and suppliers; ratification of technical specifications; reviewing complaints; and supervision of the opening of tenders of less than BD 500,000. The subcommittees met regularly during 2006, studying and evaluating matters assigned to them, and providing requested advice to the Board on technical and financial matters related to Government tenders and purchases, or any other matter presented to the Board. The members of these subcommittees are listed on the Board’s official website.

Reviews and complaints

The Tender Board received a total of 78 requests for Review and Complaints during 2006 (2005: 101; 2004: 66; 2003: 38). All requests were studied by the Board and appropriate decisions were made in full transparency to ensure adherence to the principles of fairness and equality, while taking into consideration the proper implementation of the provisions stipulated in the Law Regulating Government Tenders and Purchases and its Implementing Regulations. Most of the grievances that reached the Tender Board related to the procedures followed by the government authorities in issuing, evaluating and awarding tenders. The Board also received numerous letters of appreciation and thanks from contractors and suppliers for the careful and prompt review that their complaints received.

Operating efficiency and security

Following the relocation of the Board to its new purpose-designed premises at the Almoayyed Tower in the Seef area the previous year, further improvements in operating efficiency and security were introduced during 2006.

The IT infrastructure was upgraded to improve the speed and quality of support systems, while a major revamp of the Board’s databank was completed. New security measures include the installation of an advanced fingerprint scanning system to control and monitor access to restricted areas by staff.

Board principles

During the weekly meetings held by the Members of the Board in 2006, and on the basis of the deliberations that took place, the Tender Board adopted a number of resolutions that constitute as a whole, a set of established principles.

These principles deal with matters such as renewal of contracts and re-submission of tenders; cases where the Board is allowed to negotiate with the suppliers and contractors to reduce their bids; cases in which certain bids are excluded; ensuring that tender conditions do not contain clauses that violate the stipulations of the Law and its Implementing Regulations; inviting consultant firms to evaluate tenders to study and assess some of the bids, and submit relevant recommendations to the purchasing body; adopting the policy of public tenders as a basis for contracting in the purchase of commodities and constructions, and ensuring that using other methods of purchases and tendering are justified; increasing the number of companies that a purchasing authority proposes to invite to a limited tender; and the right of a bidder who was not chosen for the award to be so informed and provided with adequate reasons and justifications.

Ministerial orders and circulars

During 2006, the Tender Board continued to make a number of decisions, and issued orders, circulars and memoranda to government ministries, councils, departments, organisations and bodies covered by the provisions of the Law Regulating Government Tenders and Purchases.

These are aimed at establishing the procedures and standards used as guidelines by the Tender Board. They also aim at clarifying issues related to the application of the provisions of the Law and its Implementing Regulations, and guiding the purchasing parties to the procedures to be followed with respect to Government tenders and purchases. The orders and circulars issued during the year, together with all such documents issued since the Board’s establishment in 2003, are listed on the official website of the Tender Board.

Investor confidence

The Board’s reputation for transparency, integrity, fairness, competitiveness and equal opportunity, continued to play a major part during 2006 in boosting investors’ confidence in the nation’s economy, and enhancing the prestigious status of the Kingdom of Bahrain, both regionally and internationally. The Tender Board also continued to receive a number of letters of thanks and appreciation from local contractors and suppliers in which they praised the role of the Tender Board in bolstering the values of integrity and fair competition, and in ensuring the principle of transparency, fairness and equal opportunity in all tender procedures. This was further endorsed by leading international institutions, analysts and rating agencies, and visiting foreign dignitaries and politicians.

Looking ahead

The Tender Board is committed to building on its remarkable achievements to date by continuing to maintain its credibility and enhance its reputation for transparency and impartiality. This will be achieved by further streamlining the procedures of the tendering process, improving the disclosure of information to all contractors and suppliers, and enhancing the Board’s institutional capability. During 2007, the Board plans to implement a new e-tendering system, complete the re-engineering of its business processes, launch a new interactive website, and introduce revised key performance indicators to manage and measure overall performance.

These initiatives will serve to strengthen the bridges of cooperation that have been built between the Board and Government purchasing authorities on the one hand, and with local and regional contractors and suppliers on the other hand.