MUTARE– The adoption of an electronic procurement system is still hanging in the balance two years after completion of the tender process after funders ditched the cash strapped government at the last minute, it has emerged.
Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ capacity building director, Cliff Gondo said technical work for the adoption of the system was already in motion before funding challenges emerged.
He said the transition to e-procurement is part of a broader framework of Public Finance Management reforms government is pursuing to improve the ease of doing business.
“The rationale was that we needed to stop our bidders to come all the way from Matebeland to come and submit bids. This was going to be modern day e-procurement system but there was no funding.
“When dealing at this level, unfortunately you are not told in one meeting that there is no funding, you can go for two years thinking that the money is coming, then one day you reflect and realize no money is coming so it took us two years to come to that conclusion,” he said.
Gondo said there is renewed hope since government is now taking e-governance as a priority.
“Government of Zimbabwe has now taken up that responsibility, while we cannot give specific timelines it’s safe to say for this year’s budget there is a huge chuck of budget going towards our programs.
“There will be a lot of traction this year especially from the support that this project has received from a budgetary perspective with the funding set aside,” said Gondo.
Procurement specialist Cornelius Dube said while the setting up of the e procurement system is at the teething stage, this will drive the devolution agenda and allow for efficient decentralized service provision.
He said local businesses, civil society and all stakeholders with an interest in public procurement must start building their capacity and position themselves to benefit from the system.
“We are still at an early staged where we are still working it out but under devolution it’s an opportunity that at all decentralized level officials are aware of the system when it is eventually established.
“This is an opportunity now, especially when we are talking about devolution agenda if the procurement I going to be decentralized. It’s important to build the capacity now so that at the lower level we will all prepare for it,” he said.
