The Sunday Mail
GOVERNMENT envisages that promulgation of the Public Procurement Act will facilitate creation of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, whose mandate will be to superintend the integrity of procurement processes by State entities. The authority will provide an oversight and regulatory role, set standards and guidelines, and monitor compliance. Government is in the process of modernising public procurement, with the Office of the President and Cabinet driving the reforms.The Public Procurement Bill, which was passed by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation on July 23, 2016, is now before Cabinet.
State Procurement Board chairperson Ambassador Buzwani Mothobi is confident that modernisation of public procurement will help ensure optimal use of resources.
“ . . . there is, therefore, an ardent need to professionalise and modernise the procurement systems in the country as this will help in fighting the cancer of corruption that is rampant within the sector.
“More so, there is need for Government to tap into the potential of procurement as a strategic policy lever to advance socio-economic and environmental objectives which can only be achieved by the on-going review of the Procurement Act and institutional architecture for national procurement system,” said Ambassador Mothobi at the 5th AGM of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) on June 25, 2016 in Harare.
As part of the reforms – which are supported by the African Development Bank and the World Bank – procurement laws will be aligned to the new Constitution. Ambassador Mothobi said separating the regulatory and operational functions of public procurement will eliminate the current scenario where the SPB “is the accused, the policeman, the judge and sometimes even the executioner”.
Through the new legislation, authorities will have recourse over cases of malpractices and corruption in the administration of procurement processes. Suppliers will also not escape culpability. There is skepticism about the integrity of the SPB to transparently administer tenders and its former chair, Mr Charles Kuwaza, is under investigation over cases of alleged corruption.
Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Ray Ndhlukula, recently told The Sunday Mail Business that reforms of public procurement would eventually achieve adoption of electronic procurement to enhance transparency and efficiency.
All these measures dovetail with Government’s efforts to improve the business environment.
Government signed a US$2 million grant agreement with the World Bank in October 2015 for modernisation of Zimbabwe’s public procurement system.
