Public procurement transparency key to curbing corruption, says TIZ

Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has urged Zimbabweans to familiarise themselves with the country’s public procurement laws, saying informed citizens are better equipped to demand transparency and hold public officials accountable for how taxpayers’ money is spent.

Speaking on This Morning on Asakhe, a daily current affairs programme hosted by CITE, TIZ Head of Programmes Nqobani Tshabangu said Zimbabwe’s public procurement system is governed by legislation designed to promote fairness, transparency and value for money in the use of public resources.

He said the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act is the principal law regulating procurement in Zimbabwe and establishes the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).

“In the context of Zimbabwe, the primary legislation which governs public procurement is the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, which is a recent legislation. Some of the key aspects are that it establishes a regulator, which is the sole reason why we have the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe. Apart from this particular legislation we also have the Joint Ventures Act of 2016 which also establishes the framework for the private and public partnerships,” Tshabangu said.

He said the two Acts provide the legal framework governing public procurement in Zimbabwe.

“These are the two legislations that actually guide in terms of public procurement is done in Zimbabwe,” he said.

Tshabangu said every public institution, including schools, hospitals and local authorities, is required to comply with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act when procuring goods and services.

“Every procurement that is done in Zimbabwe, either in schools, in the healthcare sector or in local authorities, makes specific references to this particular legislation. This legislation clearly defines that all public funds must be spent in a manner which is transparent, fair, allows competition and ensures the cost-effective use of money. The value-for-money aspect is clearly underlined in that legislation, meaning that all monies spent by public institutions should consider those key principles of value for money and accountability,” he said.

Tshabangu said the law also requires procuring entities to treat all bidders fairly and minimise opportunities for corruption.

“It also requires procuring entities to treat bidders equally and conduct procurement in a way that minimises the opportunities for corruption,” he said.

He said public awareness of procurement laws was essential because government expenditure is funded by taxpayers.

“It is important for citizens in this country to actually understand this law because all the money that is spent by the government or by any public institution is taxpayers’ money. It is money that belongs to the people, and knowing that particular law means people will understand how their money is spent by the government. By that right, it empowers citizens to demand transparency, question irregular procurement decisions and hold public officials to account on how they are spending public funds,” Tshabangu said.

He also stressed the importance of conducting due diligence before awarding public contracts, warning that failure to do so could result in poor service delivery and the misuse of public resources.

“The due diligence process is a very important stage and when such a stage is ignored you find that some of the suppliers even fail to meet the required demands of that particular contract. They fail to fulfil their obligations, poor quality products will be introduced and you will have wastage of public funds as we simply pour money into projects that end up being white elephants,” he said.

Tshabangu warned that inadequate due diligence could also allow contracts to be awarded to politically connected individuals or companies without the capacity to deliver.

“Whenever due diligence is not done, we as Zimbabweans also award people who might be politically exposed persons, people who do not have the capacity or who will fail to deliver on time. You will find that some of the contracts are being given to politically exposed persons who end up using those funds for their own benefit,” he said.