‘Procurement Efficiency Jolts Public Service Delivery’
Efficiency and integrity in public procurement is pivotal in ensuring sound public service delivery, a senior official in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has said.
Solomon Mhlanga, senior director in the OPC in charge of public sector modernisation development, yesterday told participants at an e-procurement sensitisation workshop that ensuring efficiency and integrity in public procurement was essential to deliver sound public service delivery and maintain citizens’ trust in government in an era of fiscal austerity.
“Economic development in Zimbabwe will only be achieved by optimal usage of the available resources in the interest of the public leading to value for money service provision to all stakeholders, including government,” he said.
“Fostering institutional responsibility and personal accountability in the public sector will help stimulate a healthy business environment, promoting innovation and fair competition.”
The procurement reforms will result in personnel and entities accounting for their actions. If they stray off course, their licences would be revoked.
Mhlanga said modernisation of procurement was aimed at achieving the reduction of bureaucratic procedures, inordinate delays and inefficiencies which “ultimately become fertile ground for unbridled corruption and other forms of malpractices within the procurement system that diminish economy and efficiency in public service delivery”.
The public procurement modernisation project has a budget of $4 million and aims at supporting greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness of public procurement. It is executed by both government and the World Bank.
Yesterday’s workshop was a World Bank-executed programme. Government is doing its part through coming up with
user-friendly legislation. The Public Procurement and Public Assets Disposal Bill is currently under consideration by Parliament.
The legislation will transform the State Procurement Board (SPB) into an authority responsible for setting standards and guidelines, as well as performing a monitoring and evaluation role over procurement.
The SPB will no longer be reviewing tenders. An executive review before the awarding of the tender would be done by a team involving the Accountant-General, Auditor-General, Attorney-General and a representative from Public Works.
Zimbabwe is undergoing procurement reforms, with support from the Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund, a World Bank-managed multi-donor trust.
The wheels have been moving slowly in public procurement reforms despite the existence of a country procurement assessment report.
The report culminated from an integrated fiduciary assessment project undertaken by the government in 2010 with support from the World Bank.
The reforms will be in two phases: legislative review and capacity building and e-procurement in line with the e-government agenda.
BY NDAMU SANDU
