Zim Eyes Stronger Public Procurement Oversight Amid Corruption Concerns

By Takudzwa Tondoya

The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has flagged major gaps in the implementation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act amid rising concerns over corruption and unfair tender practices.

Speaking at the Map Launch Workshop, PRAZ CEO Dr. Clever Ruswa stressed the authority’s commitment to enhancing transparency and compliance in the country’s public procurement processes.

“Issues of compliance, they are very core and key, because they speak both to the objectives of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Dr. Ruswa added that PRAZ is working on amendments to the Act in response to evolving circumstances including disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had to do things differently, to the extent that you would find that right now, we are even in the middle of amending our Act because some of these things are not as we had anticipated or expected, depending on the context now, which was posed to us by COVID,” he said.

He also highlighted the need for professionalisation in the procurement sector and called for greater accountability among both public entities and the bidding community which he said often falls short in delivering value for money.

Ruswa said PRAZ is now identifying key sectors to strengthen domestic referencing urging procurement practitioners to strictly follow eligibility criteria outlined in Section 28 of the Act.

“We are simply now imploring on our procurement practitioners to say, if we use provisions of our Act, especially Section 28, which looks at the eligibility criteria, and if we don’t digress from such, naturally it has got a natural way of selecting those who qualify and those who don’t qualify,” he said.