US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1388

UNCLAS MANAMA 001388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI DEPT PASS USTR JBUNTIN, CMILLER, 
WCLATANOFF COMMERCE FOR CLOUSTAUNAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, PREL, BA 
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI TENDER BOARD BRINGS TRANSPARENCY TO 
PROCESS 
 
 
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Evidence of Improved Transparency 
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1.  (U) The Ambassador paid an introductory call on Minister 
of State and Chairman of the Tenders Board Abdul Hussein Ali 
Mirza on September 6, discussed the upcoming Bahrain Free 
Trade Agreement (FTA), and reviewed the recently implemented 
tender process.  The Ambassador noted that the FTA would 
increase U.S. business interest in GOB tenders and that a 
transparent and user-friendly tender process was particularly 
important to American companies.  Mirza called the Board,s 
efforts to streamline the process and ensure transparency a 
significant success, and pointed to improved ratings from 
Standard and Poor,s and on the Financial Times transparency 
index as unbiased evidence corroborating his claim. Mirza 
commented that Bahraini business people are uncertain as to 
how they can benefit from the FTA.  He urged the Ambassador 
to take a leading role in helping to define those benefits. 
 
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Tender Board Established in Response to Corruption Concerns 
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2. (U) Mirza said that managing the Tender Board takes up 
most of his time.  The Board was established in January 2003 
in response to public calls for greater transparency and 
credibility in government procurement.  The law establishing 
the Tender Board drew on best practices from regional 
governments as well as the United States and the UN.  All 
tenders over BD 10,000 are now managed by the Tender Board 
(in consultation with the concerned ministry), while those 
under BD 10,000 continue to be managed by ministries 
themselves.  Since its inception in 2003 the Tenders Board 
has processed and awarded approximately 1,300 tenders worth 
an estimated $1.3 billion. 
 
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Implementation 
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3. (U) According to Mirza, the Board,s procedures have been 
transparent from the outset.  All tenders are unsealed in an 
open meeting, bids are recorded and stamped to ensure they 
cannot be tampered with, and posted on the Board,s website. 
The Board uses a "two envelope" policy for tenders that 
require a technical component.  This involves opening the 
technical bid first to ensure that all bidders meet the 
specifications and, once confirmed, opening the financial bid 
to ensure the contract goes to the least expensive qualified 
bidder. 
 
4. (U) To ensure that the process is cost effective as well 
as fair and transparent, Mirza has begun to collect data to 
determine if amounts budgeted during the previous year by 
ministries implementing a project are the same as or less 
than actual costs.  He estimates the government has saved BD 
30 million since January 2003.  The Tender Board is now also 
tracking the time period between a Request for Proposal and 
tender award to measure the efficiency of the Board and the 
concerned ministries. 
MONROE