Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) is investigating alleged irregularities at Lupane State University (LSU)’s procurement system.
The move comes amid reports of failure by the university to follow laid down procurement regulations with Praz chief executive officer Mr Clever Ruswa telling the Sunday News in an interview that reports on the findings were being concluded.
He said compliance by the institutions under their regulatory purview was at 84 percent, adding that the authority was going to establish a branch in Bulawayo in line with the devolution and decentralisation agenda for easy access to its services by the southern provinces of the country.
“Following the whistle-blowing, Praz put LSU on the close monitoring radar where a multiplicity of regulatory and compliance monitoring actions were being done, including appraising the establishment and functional set up of the procurement management function, procurement planning and performance, direct procurements made on the innovation hub, emergency procurements, procurement record adequacy, contract delivery and vendor management practices. Our experts have been monitoring LSU and other procuring entities and an onsite review was planned for the period September, after the accounting officer had deposited his responses to Praz regarding the areas the authority was reviewing. Our teams have been onsite and currently concluding the reports on the findings,” said Mr Ruswa.
Allegations were raised early this year by the Lupane community that felt there were malpractices in the awarding of tenders and alleged inflation of invoices and bills in procurement services particularly in relation to the institution’s farming projects. Mr Ruswa emphasized the need for institutions to be compliant with procurement regulations.
“As of the last quarter, the overal compliance level of procuring entities for submitting returns to Praz has been at 84 percent. We are aiming for a 100 percent compliance level, although there are still some which are lagging behind and they are also some who are still in denial that public procurement is a separate business function meant to support the strategic direction of each pricing entity,” said Mr Ruswa.
He said some of the red flags that they have raised include failure to use appropriate procurement methods.
“Some of the red flags that we have raised include inconsistent reporting on procurement methods and thresholds leading to huge unexplained variances, excessive use of direct procurements or single-source selection methods which hinder competition, late or non-payment of contractors as well as inadequate or unavailability of procurement records,” said Mr Ruswa. — @nyeve14.
Bongani Ndlovu