Transparency International Pakistan Gives Clean Chit to Punjab Laptop Scheme: ProPakistani

Transparency International Pakistan Gives Clean Chit to Punjab Laptop Scheme

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:14 PM PDT

The Transparency International-Pakistan (TIP) gave a clean chit to the Punjab government in the procurement of 110,000 laptops being distributed among talented students.

In a letter dated April 18 the TIP said that based on the elaborate clarification given by the Planning & Development (P&D) Board/ex-officio project manager, IT Labs Project, Punjab, the procedure as prescribed by Punjab Procurement Rules (PPR) 2009 has been adopted in accordance with the specifications and evaluation criteria included in the tender documents, and the allegations leveled against procurement prima facie appear to be incorrect.

The TIP appreciated the provincial government's detailed response to its letter in which the organization requested to follow PPR 2009 in all procurements, which will result in awards of all contracts to lowest evaluated bid. It said that the TIP was striving for rule of law in Pakistan, which is the only way to eliminate corruption and have good governance.

The letter, signed by Syed Adil Adil Gilani, Advisor, TIP, said that his organization examined the official reply and found it satisfactory. It said Article 19-A of the Pakistan Constitution makes the right to access of information pertaining to a public authority a fundamental right.

The TIP letter quoted the provincial government's response, which for the procurement of 110,000 laptops a transparent procedure was followed as per PPR 2009 and the final purchase cost of Rs 37,700 per piece was much below the market cost.

This price is inclusive of a backpack, air shipping, pre-shipment inspection, extended warranty for a period of 15 months, storage and inland transportation charges and delivery to educational institutions throughout Punjab, the reply said. The bid documents were issued to all interested firms, which included detailed terms and conditions, specifications and evaluation criteria, in accordance with PPR 23.

According to the bid document, the procurement was to be undertaken through establishing LC at-sight, which meant payment will be made immediately on delivery. However, while finalizing the mode of payment the firm offered to establish a letter of credit for 30 days, the TIP said further quoting the official clarification.

Under this arrangement, the supplier is offering a 30 days credit to the Punjab government even after delivery of laptops as the payments are being made 30 days after presentation of documents by the supplier firm to the bank, after the goods have been received by the purchaser. The specifications in tender were exactly the same as the product procured and Core i3 or i5 chipsets were never mentioned in the bid documents.

The official reply further said that 15 months parts warranty against the industry norm of 12 months inclusive of battery is provided for all laptops. A copy of contract under National Accountability Ordinance has already been sent to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by the Higher Education Department (HED) of Punjab.

It said that the laptop initiative was being implemented by the HED through the Directorate of IT Labs. An eight-member project steering committee for procurement and implementation of the laptop initiative was constituted by the Punjab chief minister to ensure transparency in purchase process.

Over the past few days, the political rivals of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) hammered it hard for allegedly committing massive corruption in the laptop project and purchasing these computers at higher prices. They were not impressed with its reply. However, after the TIP that took up the matter basing it on a news report cleared the Punjab government, the PML-N stood vindicated. While earlier it was under pressure due to the negative campaign, it felt relieved due to the TIP's findings.

Nokia: Getting it Done with Dual Sim Phones

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:04 PM PDT

2011 was a significant year for Pakistan's mobile industry after it became, by most estimates, the 9^th largest mobile market in the world.

Global research firm TNS also revealed in its Mobile Life report that the country now has more than 103 million phones, with some sources placing the actual number of users nearer 130 million. 2011 was a landmark year for Nokia too, as the company celebrated the shipment of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 phone – that's a lot of phones!

Mobile phones have transformed the lives of millions of people across Pakistan, connecting communities and helping develop both the rural and urban economies. As recently as 2001, the country had just 300,000 subscribers and was a fairly immature mobile market. Fast forward ten years and Pakistan is at the forefront of the mobile revolution in the emerging world.

Today's top phones often contain as much processing power as a desktop PC did five years ago, and can often do far more, but in Pakistan it is Dual SIM handsets that have been the bedrock of the country's mobile revolution.

Users are attracted to the flexibility and choice offered by multi-SIM handsets in a market with the abundance of operators and pricing plans.

Historically Pakistan's mobile users have been confronted with a sea of sub-par handsets when choosing a Dual SIM phone and the market has stagnated in a slew of low quality products. As users have matured so have their demands, with increasing numbers of customers wishing to access the variety of services that mobile phones can offer, from feature-rich applications to online services.

The country's infrastructure has benefited from increased investment from both the public and private sectors and is now approaching the point when it can start to handle the data hungry demands of the modern mobile user.

In response to these challenges, last year Nokia used its world class heritage in mobile phone development to produce a range of Dual SIM handsets that offer users an intuitive, feature-rich experience at a price that everyone can afford. Intensively researched and carefully developed, Nokia's technology is designed specifically with the Pakistani consumer in mind, including bespoke features like Easy Swap which can remember up to five SIM cards.

The result was the Nokia X1-01 and C2-00 – budget phones that come with more memory, a better battery life and intuitive SIM change options.

This represented a significant proportion of the 3.3 million Dual SIM handsets that Nokia shipped in 2^nd half of last year, and proves that consumers are seeking feature-rich phones at affordable prices.

These innovations, rather than diluting operator revenues, are actually driving Average Revenues per Unit (ARPUs), as well as improving the user experience.

Getting people online should be at the forefront of every carrier's strategy. The mobile phone industry in Pakistan is one of the fastest growing sectors in consumer goods, and the population has demonstrated that they are willing to embrace quality phones. Research from the University of the Punjab, published in the International Journal of Business and Social Science last year, has shown that the majority of users in Pakistan consider mobile phones a "necessity of life" and will consider almost all features of a handset when purchasing.

The latest industry statistics show that GPRS data usage on Nokia handsets in Pakistan is now well above 40% across the board. Coupled with that around a quarter (23%) of Dual SIM X2-01 users in Pakistan have become first-time internet users, experiencing the benefits of apps, enjoying multi-media messaging and a host of other online activities for the first time.

Personal relationships are growing and communities developing as customers evolve beyond the standard phone calls and SMS into a media-rich user experience. Nokia has pledged to connect a billion people, and this is another step in the realization of that goal.

2012 promises to be an exciting year for the mobile industry in Pakistan. Both handset activation and user numbers are predicted to continue to rise, and more people than ever are on course to access the internet for the first time.

Having revolutionized the Dual SIM market last year with its range of robust, feature-heavy phones at affordable prices, Nokia is planning to build on its successful partnership with cellular operators. Nokia is already in discussion with operators across the country to help customers benefit from affordable internet data bundles, and ensure that when users take their first step onto the mobile internet, Nokia will be with them all the way.

Facts and figures given in this article were provided by Nokia Pakistan.

world on your screen

Tuesday, April 24, 2012