Vusumuzi Dube
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has urged business to stick to the public procurement systems to avoid tender cancellation and blacklisting for breaking the law.
Public procurement refers to procurement of external resources needed by the Government and entities under its control.
It includes acquisitions of external resources using public funds. It also uses any other source of funding, such as grants and gifts.
In a virtual meeting, organised by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) to discuss some of the procurement issues being faced by business held on Thursady, PRAZ chief executive officer Mr Clever Ruswa said public procurement could
“In this regard, the procurement system in Zimbabwe recognises the equal status of functional and horizontal objectives in public procurement. This is expressed in the legal frameworks which govern public procurement (Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act),” he said.
Highlighting the objectives of the Act, Mr Ruswa said it sought to ensure that procurement is effected in a manner that is transparent, fair, honest, cost effective and competitive. He said this could be achieved through preparation of specifications and tender documents that are neutral and based on performance or functional requirements.
“There is a need for consideration of life cycle costs during the evaluation and award of tenders, publication of procurement plans, pre-qualification, bidding and contract award notices, public bid openings and shared procurement.”
Mr Ruswa said the Act sought to promote competition among bidders and this could be done through the use of competitive bidding or request for proposals for consultancy services as the preferred method of procurement. He said there was a need for the use of pre-disclosed evaluation criteria and bidders being able to seek written information on unsuccessful bids.
“The Act seeks to provide for the fair and equitable treatment of all bidders, leading to procurement contracts that represent good value for money.”
He said this could be achieved by bidders being permitted to participate regardless of nationality and clear eligibility criteria together with consistent application of evaluation criteria to all bidders. Mr Ruswa said there was a need for application of preference of award in certain circumstances of some classes of domestic bidders.
Among others objectives of the Act, he said: “It seeks to promote the integrity of fairness and public confidence in procurement processes. This can be achieved by challenging mechanism for bidders who believe a procuring entity has breached the rules, monitoring and supervision of procurement by an independent regulatory authority.”
He said there was a need for keeping procurement records in a manner prescribed by the law and declarations by procurement officers to abide by the Code of Conduct, while undertaking by accounting officers to abide by the provisions of the Act.
Mr Ruswa said the Act also sought to secure the implementation of any environmental, social, economic and other policy that is authorised or required by any law to be taken into account by a procuring entity in procurement proceedings.
“How this is achieved is by domestic preference to promote Zimbabwean suppliers and manufacturers, women-controlled entities or technical solutions originating from a Zimbabwean institution. There is a need for consideration of safe disposal of equipment at the time of the design of the specifications. While also evaluation may take into account factors such as environmental and social benefits, energy consumption or recycling costs.”
In terms of qualification of bidders he said contracts should only be awarded to contractors who meet the eligibility criteria and who are qualified to perform the contract and to achieve satisfactory results. As an organisation, ZNCC provides services designed to support its members in business development. It aims to be a leader in business development in the national economy and a channel of communication between business and the various authorities in Zimbabwe.
Bongani Ndlovu