Pakistan (Province of Balochistan)

Issues:

The legal framework remains incomplete, with several key regulations still missing, including those related to record keeping, e-government procurement guidelines, price preference policy, and integrity pacts. Qualification criteria are unclear and include restrictions that may limit the participation of foreign bidders, while no domestic preference policy has been formally defined. Contract management provisions are weak and incomplete, with unclear mechanisms for dispute resolution. The appeals system is also deficient, as the second tier review body is not operational and its independence is uncertain. In addition, the absence of record keeping regulations contributes to broader transparency concerns. Sustainability considerations are not incorporated into the framework, and international obligations are not adequately reflected. Finally, the transition to the electronic procurement system has faced challenges, including incomplete data recording and gaps in security and confidentiality.

Recommendations:

• Adopt all missing regulations, including recordkeeping, e‑GP guidelines, price preference, and integrity pact.
• Clarify qualification criteria; remove foreign registration barriers; lower the ICB threshold if needed.
• Develop domestic preference policy only if government‑aligned.
• Strengthen provisions on contract management, late payments, and mandatory ADR clauses.
• Operationalize and reform the appeals mechanism, ensuring independence and requiring publication of decisions.
• Establish comprehensive recordkeeping regulation; integrate e‑PPS with payment systems.
• Incorporate sustainability criteria throughout procurement once policy is adopted.
• Improve e‑PPS usability, data consistency, and security (third‑party audit).

Issue:

Institutional arrangements are weakened by limited independence and capacity of the regulatory body, unclear assignment of procurement functions in agencies, weak integration between procurement and budgeting, limited use and accessibility of e-procurement, and insufficient data and staffing capacity.

Recommendations:

• Strengthen institutional capacity and staffing
• Clearly assign procurement responsibilities within agencies
• Integrate procurement planning with budgeting
• Enhance e-procurement functionality and data accessibility
• Develop performance measurement systems and training frameworks.

Issue:

Procurement operations suffer from limited professionalisation, absence of performance measurement, weak contract management and supplier evaluation, incomplete procurement data, limited market engagement, and lack of structured interaction with private sector and civil society.

Recommendations:

• Develop comprehensive training programmes
• Establish performance measurement systems
• Improve contract management and supplier evaluation
• Enhance data collection
• Promote structured engagement with the private sector and inclusion of MSMEs.

Issue:

While a general level of transparency exists, contract and performance data remain difficult to extract and analyse. Control and audit systems do not specifically address procurement audits, contributing to a significant backlog and the absence of a dedicated procurement audit manual. Definitions of corruption vary across legal frameworks, and there are no consolidated statistics on corruption cases. Mechanisms for reporting wrongdoing are inadequate, as there are no secure or confidential channels and whistleblower protection remains pending. In addition, there is no engagement with civil society and no capacity building efforts targeting wider stakeholders.

Recommendations:

• Amend legal framework to introduce procurement‑specific audit mandates and manuals.
• Coordinate with control bodies to address audit backlog and establish clear reporting lines.
• Consolidate corruption definitions; introduce procurement‑specific anti‑corruption measures.
• Establish secure complaint mechanisms and support whistleblower legislation.
• Compile and publish corruption‑related statistics regularly.
• Introduce broad‑based integrity training; develop mechanisms for civil society participation.