SPB wants to take over authorities’ procurement

Board if proposed amendments to the Pro­curement Act by the SPB are approved.
Local authorities are strongly opposed to the change.
The SPB is also proposing to raise the threshold for tenders for construction to US$1 million, meaning work worth less need not go through the board.

The proposed amendments have been sent to the Attorney General’s Office for drafting.
“It is hereby notified that the Vice President, after consultation with the Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development in terms of Section 2 (2) (a) of the Procurement Act and the State

Procurement Board . . . , declared the following entities to be procuring entities with effect from the date of publication of this instrument,” reads the proposed Statu­tory Instru­ment.

If approved, this will see all urban councils, municipalities, towns, local boards and rural district councils buy goods and services above the threshold through the SPB.
A source close to the latest develop­ments said the intention was to “profes­sionalise” pro­curement in local authori­ties.
“This is being done because all along pro­curement at local authorities is being done by politicians instead of the executive. Clerks have no voice on pro­curement yet they are profes­sionals.

“The challenge is that procurement deci­sions of local authorities lack pro­fessionalism and good corporate gover­nance. In this case, the SPB is consid­ered a profes­sional body that can profession­alise procure­ment at local authorities,” said the source who requested anonymity.
Harare Mayor Mr Muchadeyi Masunda yes­terday said the decision would cause unneces­sary delays in the procurement of critical items.
“It will create unnecessary bottle­necks and delays with regard to the pro­curement of criti­cal items for our vari­ous departments espe­cially those that are seized with service delivery issues like where up to 500 to 600 products are delivered every month.

“Between 350 and 450 babies are delivered every month at Mabvuku Polyclinic. I would not like to see the sterling service currently on offer to many expectant women being compro­mised on the altar of bureaucracy,” said Mr Masunda.
“Furthermore does the procurement board not have enough on its plate procuring for Government ministries and departments, the majority of which are poorly and inefficiently run?

“The same argument applies with equal force vis a vis the department of water and san­itation, engineering serv­ices, amenities, hous­ing and commu­nity services, which by the way run 32 primary schools, the emergency serv­ices division which runs the fire brigade and ambulances, the municipal police.”
The Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe dismissed the proposed amendments saying the SPB was inept to deal with council procurement.

Ucaz president and Masvingo Mayor Femias Chakabuda said if approved, it was going to be difficult for local authorities to procure goods and serv­ices on time.
“If this is approved then it is going to be a disaster because everything that goes through the SPB takes long to be approved,” he said.

“The State Procurement Board is a Government department that has failed to procure for Government enterprises and parastatals and now they want to add local authorities to that list.

“They just want to load themselves with responsibilities they can’t shoulder. We read in the papers daily about the SPB’s failure to operate effectively, Par­liament is complaining about their delays in awarding tenders. The State Procurement Board has failed to pro­cure for Government departments, so how do they want to procure for local authorities?”

Mayor Chakabuda said instead, the SPB was supposed to help local authori­ties deal with their challenges as con­sultants.
The SPB also proposed that the mini­mum threshold for construction be set at US$1 million for both formal and informal tenders.
The SPB has often came under fire from industry and Government for the manner in which it awarded tenders.

Industry representatives told a Parlia­mentary Portfolio Committee on Bud­get, Finance and Investment Promotion that the SPB had failed to execute its duties properly.

The committee went on a whirlwind tour of the country to gather evidence on people’s perception about the SPB’s operations.
Industry claimed that the SPB gave tenders to shelf companies and those that did not have capacity.
Government, on the other hand, expressed concern that the SPB was tak­ing long to approve tenders in the process frustrating development.

However, SPB chairman Mr Charles Kuwaza dismissed the allegations say­ing his board executed its duties profes­sionally.