International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

Building Empires Overseas 199
Developing countries also have much to gain from unilateral initiatives.
Operating a transparent and competitive government procurement process is
paramount in the effort to limit the wasteful spending of public resources. Transparency
enhances predictability, trust, and fairness in the system and, by extension,
forces companies to compete by raising productivity and lowering costs.
Announcements of government contracts should be adequately advertised and
easily accessible. The winning bids should be announced so that competing bidders
can assess their shortcomings and the fairness of the process. Governments
can also establish a body for dispute resolution or at least a mechanism to address
complaints if bidders suspect collusion or discrimination. It is likewise best practice
to allow suppliers to challenge the due process of procurement conduct. The
World Bank’s guidelines on international competitive bidding provide sound
principles on ways to manage government procurement, and they leave some flexibility
in the bidding process (box 6.5). A standardized information technology
system is an excellent tool for sharing information and informing prospective
bidders about outstanding projects.
Box 6.5: Enhancing Transparency: World Bank Guidelines on Notification
and Advertising
Timely notification of bidding opportunities is essential in competitive bidding.
According to the World Bank, for projects that include procurement on the basis of
international competitive bidding, the borrower is required to prepare and submit a
draft general procurement notice. The World Bank will arrange for its publication in
United Nations Development Business. 4 The notice shall contain information concerning
the borrower (or prospective borrower), the amount and purpose of the
loan, the scope of procurement under international competitive bidding, and the
name and address of the borrower’s agency responsible for procurement. If known,
the scheduled date of issue of prequalification or bidding documents should be indicated.
The borrower is to maintain a list of responses to the notice. The related prequalification
or bidding documents should not be released to the public earlier than
eight weeks after the date of publication of the notice. The general procurement
notice is to be updated annually for all outstanding procurement.
The international community is also to be notified in a timely manner of the
opportunities to bid for specific contracts. To that end, invitations to prequalify or to
bid, as the case may be, are to be advertised as specific procurement notices in at
least one newspaper of national circulation in the borrower’s country (and in the official
gazette, if any). Such invitations are also to be transmitted to those who have
expressed interest in bidding in response to the general procurement notice. Publication
of the invitations in United Nations Development Business is encouraged. Borrowers
are also strongly encouraged to transmit such invitations to embassies and
trade representatives of countries of likely suppliers and contractors. Additionally, for
large, specialized, or important contracts, borrowers are to advertise the invitations in
United Nations Development Business or in well-known technical magazines, newspapers,
and trade publications of wide international circulation. Notification is to be
given in sufficient time to enable prospective bidders to obtain prequalification or
bidding documents and prepare and submit their responses.