ISLAMABAD ( ABRAR MUSTAFA )
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) had initiated the procurement process for the Prime Minister’s Laptops Scheme (Phase-II) and some observations were raised by the Transparency International Pakistan in the procurement process. Most of the observations had already been addressed earlier, however to settle remaining observations, a high level joint meeting of Project Steering Committee and Technical Committee was held at HEC Secretariat on Monday.
Representatives from National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Public Procurement Regulator Authority (PPRA) and Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) were also requested to attend the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by the Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC. Further Chief Coordinator and Coordinator for Fee reimbursement and provision of Laptops, also attended the meeting. Members/ representatives of both Steering and Technical Committees from Finance Division (Budget Wing), Planning Commission, Higher Education Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Education Department Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Ministry of IT, Punjab Information Technology Board, Department of Information, Science and Technology Sindh, along with Advisor Transparency International Pakistan were also present in the meeting.
To seek trusted advisory support on the technical observations, Mr. Naveed Siraj, Country Manager, Intel Pakistan was requested to attend the meeting so he along with Mr. Salman Ehsan, Enterprise Lead were also present at the occasion.
The Committee was apprised on the progress of the Project and also discussed all the observations raised by the Transparency International Pakistan, point wise and deliberated to reach to a conclusion favoring the scheme and in the best interest of the country.
During detailed discussion, different options were discussed and all the observations are addressed and stand resolved. The Higher Education Commission will now proceed with the execution of project as discussed and finalized during the meeting.