PPRA’s Digital Procurement System Continues to Malfunction as Cancellations Rise

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) is allegedly facing mounting scrutiny over delays in its flagship e-procurement system, EPADS, as rising procurement cancellations and incomplete system features expose gaps in execution and oversight.

According to official sources, the Managing Director recently directed the Project Director of the Project Management Unit (PMU) to submit a clear, phase-wise roadmap for developing missing EPADS modules, an implicit acknowledgment of persistent implementation delays.

Officials have also been tasked with reviewing the system’s core and analytical layers and coordinating with the Pakistan Digital Authority within a week to align on a national roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into public procurement.

The PMU has further been instructed to convert the EPADS 2.0 public dashboard into a functional executive dashboard and fast-track critical features such as direct contracting and force account. Despite these directives, insiders say progress on system functionality, planning, and impact evaluation remains slow, raising serious concerns about institutional capacity.

In an apparent effort to build expertise, several PPRA officials, mostly contract-based consultants, recently attended e-procurement training at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Italy. The PPRA spokesperson said these officials would serve as certified master trainers and lead capacity-building initiatives.

However, sources question whether such measures can offset deeper structural weaknesses, noting that the MD has now asked participants to submit detailed reports for onward sharing with the Cabinet Division and the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the heart of the issue are capacity constraints tied to qualifications and performance. Multiple sources allege that some consultants and senior officers are unable to contribute effectively, weakening team performance and delivery. The controversy has been sharpened by questions over the alleged credentials of the CTO/Director IT PPRA, whose MCS degree is from Al-Khair University’s Islamabad campus, where degrees have recently been declared invalid by court rulings.

Separately, the Senior Specialist Training and Capacity Building, a British national and Preston University graduate, is also under scrutiny, with concerns raised over his alleged concealed dual nationality and eligibility for the position. These developments have placed the MD under pressure to justify the continued retention of allegedly underperforming and potentially unqualified officials.

Meanwhile, data available on the EPADS dashboard shows procurement cancellations have climbed to 1,083 cases till Thursday, intensifying concerns as fiscal year 2025–26 nears its close.

EPADS dashboard data reviewed by ProPakistani reveals that the system currently has 1,556 procuring agencies and 14,117 registered vendors.

The system also reflects 6,560 planned procurements with an estimated cost of Rs. 140.62 billion, while 605 open procurements carry an estimated cost of Rs. 39.21 billion.

The data further shows that 529 procurements are currently under evaluation with an estimated cost of Rs. 38.03 billion, while 3,123 letters of intent have been issued involving approximately Rs. 6 billion.

The PPRA spokesperson, however, rejected the notion that rising cancellations reflect inefficiency. He maintained that procuring agencies independently manage their procurement processes and may cancel bids for valid reasons such as budget constraints, withdrawal of projects, administrative decisions, or lack of responsive bids.

Citing Rule 33 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, he said agencies are legally empowered to reject all bids prior to acceptance.

“EPADS merely records these decisions in real time to ensure transparency and traceability,” he stated, adding that linking cancellations to system inefficiency reflects a misunderstanding of procurement dynamics.