Public Procurement Ordinance Needed to Accelerate Development Projects: Sobita Gautam

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam has said that the government was compelled to introduce the Public Procurement (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2083 to immediately address complexities and delays caused by the existing Public Procurement Act.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Friday, Gautam responded to concerns raised by opposition lawmaker Khadak Bahadur Bishwakarma, who had proposed rejecting the ordinance.

She stated that problems related to the Public Procurement Act had been repeatedly raised in Parliament for a long time and that the government had been looking for ways to resolve them. Since Parliament was not in session at the time, the government introduced the ordinance to amend procurement provisions and speed up development and construction activities.

“The issue of delays caused by the Public Procurement Act has been discussed many times in this very Parliament. The government was working on how to address it. In that context, the ordinance was introduced to amend procurement-related provisions and make processes faster. Now there is room to bring a replacement bill,” she said.

Gautam argued that the government amended the law through the ordinance to address concerns that lawmakers themselves had repeatedly raised and to make it easier to solve pressing public issues.

She also emphasized that the government is moving forward with greater urgency to address citizens’ problems and improve service delivery.