Sundaymail Editor
Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) plans to introduce operating licences for procurement personnel, in a move expected to enhance transparency and professionalism.
PRAZ, which regulates 345 State-owned entities, believes that adopting the approach being applied in the medical, legal and media professions, will enhance probity among buyers in public institutions. In an interview with The Sunday Mail last week, PRAZ chairperson Mrs Vimbai Nyemba said the organisation is continuously trying to find ways to improve the manner in which public funds are utilised.
“It is a requirement at law that every entity must have a Procurement Management Unit.
“We are in the process of professionalising procurement so that all procurement officials are licenced, in the event that they do anything that is not within the law, they stand to lose their licence and we think that will go a long way to deter would-be criminals,” said Mrs Nyemba.
Over the past two years, there has been a mass recruitment of procurement officers, in accordance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.
PRAZ replaced the State Procurement Board in 2019, a process which saw institutions being empowered to make their own procurement decisions under the guidance of the regulator.
This was meant to enhance efficiency and transparency in the manner in which purchases are made. However, the latest Auditor-General’s report shows that procurement misgivings are not yet fully cured. Mrs Nyemba said this is because many entities under their purview are not yet up to speed with the requirements of the amendments made to the anchoring Act of Parliament. Since its inception, PRAZ has been one of the key state witnesses in corruption cases brought before the courts.
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