ISLAMABAD – The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has joined hands with the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to check bid rigging, collusive tendering, and other anti-competitive practices in public procurement.
Ms. Marryum Pervaiz, Secretary to the Commission, and Mr. Muhammad Tahir, Director General Operations NAB signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which sets a framework for joint efforts in information sharing, investigation, and technical collaboration.
It includes mutual support in capacity-building, data access, identification of risk patterns, and enforcement strategies.
CCP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said that despite PPRA’s e-procurement system (EPADS), there is no robust mechanism to ensure transparency in public sector bidding, underscoring the need for regular monitoring of collusive practices.
He shared that CCP has developed advanced software to analyze large datasets and detect patterns of bid rigging and collusion. He said that accountability laws require criminal standards of proof, while the Competition Act operates on a civil standard. He stressed that inter-agency information sharing can boost deterrence and enable smarter enforcement.
NAB Chairman Lieutenant General (Retd.) Nazir Ahmed Butt commended CCP for initiating institutional collaboration. He said that corruption and collusive practices in public procurement are draining national resources and must be tackled with urgency. He noted that NAB can benefit from CCP’s expertise in data analysis to detect cartelization, calling such practices “mega crimes” against the economy.
