adminOperations of the SPB are highly centralised. This body, which is supposed to award tenders on major national projects, has just one office in Harare.
What this means is that any business person who wishes to clinch a Government tender has to travel to Harare even for a mundane task such as collecting a tender document, a prerequisite in the bidding for Government contracts.
It is not surprising that most business people in Bulawayo and indeed other areas outside Harare tend to get frustrated and stop bidding altogether for Government contracts.
A meeting to gather the public’s views on the operations of the SPB organised by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment in Bulawayo on Monday saw just 12 people attending, maybe a sign that most business people in the region see it as futile to try and do business with the board.
All the same, it was wrong for business people to snub the meeting as it would have presented them with an opportunity to voice their concerns and even lobby the committee to push the SPB to decentralise its operations to other regions.
At a Matabeleland North provincial development committee meeting on Thursday, provincial heads of government departments joined the chorus in calling for a review of the operations of the SPB.
They expressed fears that if the SPB does not waiver some of its conditions, businesses in the province will not benefit from projects anticipated to be generated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia next year.
Last year Public Works Minister Gabbuza Joel Gabuza accused Bulawayo firms of being docile when it came to applying for Government tenders resulting in them losing out to lucrative contracts. He further said bids from Bulawayo companies were not competitive enough.
“Most applications that we get as a ministry are from either Harare or from Chinese companies and one wonders where Bulawayo businesspeople are to seize an opportunity to develop themselves. It is also shocking that I have never met any Bulawayo company engaging me or seeking advice on how to apply for tenders. I don’t even have their business cards or contacts,” he was quoted as saying then.
We believe that a major review of the operations of the SPB is long overdue if companies from all parts of the country are to benefit from government tenders.
The first thing that needs to be done is to ensure that operations of the board are decentralised. Offices must be opened in all provinces. An important institution such as the State Procurement Board cannot have one office considering the important role it plays in the economy.
If funding is a problem, the board can appoint agents where tender documents can be bought and deposited. A number of government agencies have successfully done this.
The Zimbabwe National Road Adminisration does not have offices in all provinces but makes sure that vehicle licence discs are available in all areas through the Zimpost network.
The State Procurement Board should consider a similar arrangement so that its documents are easily accessible.
The board should also consider positive discrimination in awarding tenders. If a project is in Bulawayo or Hwange, for example, it should strive to award that tender to local companies as long as they meet the minimum requirements. This way they would be providing employment to local people.
However, the call by provincial heads in Matabeleland North for a waiver of SPB conditions should not translate to lowering of standards.
Government sets stringent conditions when calling for tenders for a reason. Some companies have failed to complete projects or did shoddy work after under-bidding tenders just to win a contract, resulting in the final cost spirallling beyond budget.
Local companies should make sure that they have the capacity to undertake the advertised projects in terms of both financial and human capital before moaning that they are being sidelined.
Online Reporter