Annex 1: Relationships of the e-commerce strategy with higher level
plans
1.
RELATED TO THE COVID-19 ECONOMIC RELIEF PLAN
The relationship between the e-commerce strategy and the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan are
described below by Economic Relief Plan goals as applicable. Many actions applicable to all
businesses are included in the Economic Relief Plan. This paper focuses on those particularly
relevant to e-commerce.
1.1
Goal 5: Promoting innovative Products and Platforms; Strategy 5.1: Promote
Innovative Products
The measures under the Relief Plan are directly relevant to e-commerce development and will ensure
an early start to a number of measures in the e-commerce strategy. These include:
1.2
Action 5.1.1 (a) intended to promote the use of mobile financial payments services, with
government use of such services wherever feasible;
Action 5.1.1 (b) intended to ensure that e-commerce and social commerce service providers
only accept electronic payments;
Action 5.1.2 which promotes usage of e-commerce and social-commerce systems by (a)
encouraging retail businesses to make use of existing local and overseas e-commerce or
social commerce websites, (b) promoting delivery and logistics firms to provide delivery
services for such businesses, (c) developing a central e-commerce website for business use
and (d) initiating a “Challenge Grant” competition amongst Myanmar’s ICT / e-commerce
community for innovative ideas to combat COVID-19.
Goal 6: Healthcare Systems Strengthening
E-commerce may support measures in the Economic Relief Plan associated with the strengthening
of healthcare systems, particularly those used in procurement. Other developing countries procure
goods and services using e-procurement including for example Botswana.7
The Botswana Experience
The Botswana Government has its own e-procurement system that enables it to manage public sector
tenders. This Integrated Procurement Management System is operated by the Public Procurement
and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB). Prospective government contractors can register online in
order to bid for government contracts (online registration system for e-procurement). The system is
being extended to enable government contractors to submit tender commitment responses to
government through the electronic platform. This is being done with the Ministry of Finance. In
July 2019, the system was being tested.
In addition, the Central Medical Store in the Botswana Ministry of Health uses an Inventory
Management System to schedule purchases within individual framework agreements, and the
Ministry is implementing a system to enable online stores requisitioning. Private health care
providers including private hospitals will be able to requisition using this system and will pay for
the stores requisitioned.
Such measures are included in this e-commerce strategy to support the purchase and distribution of
medical supplies associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of Action 6.1.2:
7
UNCTAD
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