National Project Implementation Plan - NVBDCP

contractor/supplier. However, the various assessments (CPAR/SPAR) revealed
significant weaknesses and lack of compliance with the basic framework of
rules and procedures. These included the absence of: a dedicated policy
making department, a legal framework, credible complaint/ challenge/
grievance procedures, and the standard bidding documents. The assessments
also highlighted cases of preferential treatment in procurement, delays in
tender processing and award decisions, use of two envelope system and
incidents of inappropriate negotiations.
12.2.5 Procurement Capacity Assessment for the Project
Other procurement capacity assessment studies conducted by the Bank for the
health sector projects have pointed out issues such as weak procurement
organization, problems due to use of PSAs, delays in finalization of annual
procurement plans and poor quality of procurement plans, ambiguous and
incomplete specifications for equipment and drugs, delays in procurement
decisions including delay in technical evaluation, piece-meal procurement by
implementing entities, non availability of appropriate Standard Bidding
Document (SBD) for carrying out procurement on rate contract basis, absence
of procurement manual, quality assurance and inspection of goods, weak
supply chain management, poor logistics and storage facilities, low capacity of
procurement personnel, absence of post-award reviews, and weak complaint
handling mechanisms etc.
The procurement capacity assessment of NVBDCP was carried out by the World
Bank as part of mandatory assessment which pointed out to specific
weaknesses such as lack of trained procurement staff, intentional splitting of
Contracts to avoid use of more competitive procurement procedures, delays in
contract awards due to time taken in evaluation, getting IFD clearance etc. and
the stocks/drugs are allocated based on the past use rather than the forecasted
disease burden.
12.3. Procurement Arrangements
12.3.1 Procurement Plan
For each major contract to be financed by World Bank, the different
procurement methods or consultant selection methods, the need for
prequalification, estimated costs, prior review requirements, and time frame
are agreed between the NVBDCP and the World Bank project team in the
Procurement Plan. The Procurement Plan will be updated at least annually or as
required to reflect the actual project implementation needs and improvements
in institutional capacity. It will also be available in the Project’s database and in
the World Bank’s external website. MOHFW has prepared the procurement plan
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