Engaging citizens can bring best results to local public works

If citizens can be engaged in public procurement reforms, it can bring the best results in local public works, said experts at a national seminar on social awareness and citizen engagement in public procurement.

"Reform requires not only technical content but also substantial social and behavioural content. The social element of reform – what is in it for citizens – must be articulated. Citizens need to be educated about the reform to ensure that it serves their needs," said Md Aziz Taher Khan, director of Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU), Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), Ministry of Planning, at the seminar.

CPTU organised the seminar while Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University, assisted CPTU in hosting the seminar to increase social accountability and local responsiveness through citizen engagement.

Abu Hena Morshed Zaman, secretary of IMED, present at the event as chief guest, said, "Bangladesh, with the great steering force of CPTU, has created a dynamic space for citizen engagement, democratising public sector processes. This shift represents a deep change in bureaucracy, transforming the government into an interconnected, modern organism that can evolve with changing times."

BIGD Executive Director Imran Matin emphasised the importance of integrating citizen engagement components in all cycles of project development, including the design, implementation, and evaluation stages.

Mustafizur Rahman of the World Bank said, "If media and citizens continue to know about and take interest in how the government spends its public funds, there will be greater social accountability, local needs are more likely to be met, the quality of public service delivery will improve, and the overall wellbeing of citizens will go up."

CPTU Director General, Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury, in his concluding remarks at the event said, "Reversals can happen at any time, given the complex and charged political economy environment surrounding procurement, and that is why sustaining political support is so essential. We hope this seminar will help CPTU build a regulated structure to enhance citizen engagement in the public procurement process, to sustain and support improvements in public service delivery for our citizens."