Online Reporter
Judith Phiri,Zimpapers Business Hub
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) is working with the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services and the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) to solve connectivity problems at remote areas for electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system users.
This is one of the initiatives critical to enhance the system and ensure inclusivity leaving no one and no place behind. Officially launched by President Mnangagwa in October 2023, the eGP system became operational on 1 January 2024, to enable all public entities and bidders to conduct procurement activities electronically.
PRAZ ICT Director, Mr Freddy Ndhlovu said there was need to ensure connectivity challenges are addressed as reliable internet was a must for eGP system users.
“We have challenges in terms of connectivity issues. On this one we are working with the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services and the Postal and Telecommunications and POTRAZ to make sure that there is improvement in terms of having connectivity,” he said.
“As an authority we have also partnered with the Zimbabwe Posts (Private) Limited (Zimpost) to make use of their Community Information Centres (CICs). The idea being that if somebody wants to participate and they do not have internet or do not have internet enabled gadget they can make use of these CICs to flight tenders.”
He said they were also continuing with training programmes to make sure that they continue toshare knowledge and empower their users community.
Mr Ndlovu said they were working on integration with other Government departments like the technology system or digital companies to get company numbers so that they are able to verify the companies in terms of their status.
He added: “Issues around resilience, obviously when you bring in a system that is going to bring in transparency and fight corruption you are bound to have some resistance. On that we are working on it in terms of ensuring that we continue to sensitize and encourage utilisation. Also rgulatory changes are meant to address that.”
On cyberattacks, Mr Ndhlovu said cybersecurity was critical for the system that is available digitally.
He said there were attackers who keep on trying to get into thier systems.
“We continously monitor to make that we have resilience in our systems. We have the best cybersecurity measures and we continue to invest in more of these. For these challenges we have some ways of addressing them effectively as soon as we identify them,” he said.
Mr Ndhlovu said they were also addressing challenges that included regulatory gaps and they were working on a comprehensive e-GP legislation for enforcement.
He said there was need for support and maintenance fees, while there was limited resources among procuring entities (PEs) and vendors.
“There is absence of public key infrastructure (PKI) for Zimbabwe to support digital identity and encryption of tender submissions. We are also faced with interoperability with existing legacy systems and funding constraints. We are working tirelessly to address most of these challenges,” he added.
