A total of 12 operators of e-auction businesses in Thailand are now seeking support in this effort from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), of which they are all members. The FTI has an important voice on the JCCIB.
The 12 firms plan to hold a press conference to state their case, which asserts that the planned cancellation of PM's Office Regulations on E-auctions BE 2549 and resumption of PM's Office Regulations on Open Bidding BE 2535 is a step backward.
Managers of the three major operators who spoke to The Nation shared the view that electronic auctions had led to greater transparency and accountability, fairer trading and - most importantly - cost savings in government bidding.
They also complained that influential businessmen had had undue sway in this case via the Board of Trade of Thailand. These influential figures, according to the e-auction executives, proposed the idea of ending the e-auction system to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently at a meeting of the Joint Public-Private Consultative Committee, which the premier chairs.
The government has ordered concerned government agencies, in particular the Comptroller-General's Department, to find a resolution to the conflict.
Acknowledging that loopholes in the e-auction regulations have been abused, and that some e-auction practices are inconvenient for both the public and private sectors, the managers urged the government to amend the weak points in the regulations while considering a lessening of the stringent restrictions and punishments to which bidders are currently subject.
The Cabinet is scheduled to make a decision on whether or not to end the e-bidding system this month.
E-auctions were launched in 2005, during Thaksin Shinawatra's tenure as prime minister. Under the system, every government procurement worth Bt20 million or more must be undertaken via an e-auction.
The most important proposal made by the JCCIB to the Joint Public-Private Committee is to end e-auctions for all bidding on government projects involving work that requires a bill of quantity (BoQ). This mainly applies to mega-projects, information-technology services and projects with special technical requirements such as medical supplies and high-voltage transmission lines.
In the proposal to scrap e-auctions made to Abhisit, the JCCIB also complained that the system was causing delays in projects, and was not resulting in projects being awarded to the best-qualified firms, as the bid winners were those offering the lowest price. As a result, some winners had abandoned jobs, it was claimed.
According to the three companies, however, using the e-auction system has enabled the government to save 6 to 7 per cent of its annual procurement budget of Bt250 billion to Bt300 billion (for government, state enterprise and local administration projects) - or Bt15 billion to Bt20 billion.
Projects requiring a BoQ - those for which e-auctions would be scrapped under the proposal - account for 98 per cent of the government procurement budget, the executives from the three firms said. They claimed ending the e-auctions would see the government moving from saving money to spending nearly Bt20 billion more every year.
Porntip Khamprapai, senior vice president of Biz Dimension, said the e-auction method was a transparent bidding system that allows all suppliers to offer quality products to the government.
In addition, the government's e-auction regulations ensure transparency by, among other things, requiring the establishment of terms-of-reference and inspection committees, and greater accountability, Porntip said.
Piya Phiriyapokanont, managing director of Newtron, said the government was moving forward with developing the administrative system by introducing an "electronic society", which includes such features as electronic identification cards that include all of a citizen's personal information.
To end the e-auction system, Piya said, would be to backtrack to the use of outdated forms of bidding that encourage corruption and political interference, and are too costly.
"The e-auction is the most suitable way for the government to maximise the tax money it collects from the people, because it is the most efficient. Every transaction is accountable," Piya said.
Morrakot Thavisri, vice president for e-government business at Pantavanij, said e-auction operators want to see a level playing field. The end of electronic auctions would also have a serious effect on Pantavanij's employees, who number about 1,000, Morrakot said.
A senior official who works closely with the e-auction system said the Comptroller-General's Department found that the system was best suited to low-cost projects or those involving routine materials, rather than the more expensive projects, including mega-projects.
"Price collusion is a possibility whenever you hold a bid, and e-auctions are no exception. E-auctions are not suitable for meeting the government's specific quality requirements," the source said, pointing out that if the Cabinet ends the e-auction system, employees of the related government office will lose their jobs as well.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Achara Pongvutitham
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 09.11.2009
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