The Herald
Blessings Chidakwa-Herald Reporter
Public procurement entities must shun corruption and fully abide by the procurement statutes and regulations, with those flouting the law certain of arrest, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Mr Willard Manungo has said.
Mr Manungo called on the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) to provide platforms that ensure public procurement officials were equipped with the relevant skills to interpret and implement the law and the guidelines for their application.
“However, this should be no excuse for public procurement officials not to upskill themselves beyond just the acquisition of a supply chain or procurement qualification,” she said.
Mr Manungo said procurement officers should possess the necessary skills and competencies to select the most appropriate procurement process or method as guided by the relevant statutes.
“I also expect accounting officers never to abdicate their responsibilities and let procurement management units operate on autopilot or blame PRAZ for challenges their entities will be facing due to lack of appreciation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act and Regulations,” he said.
The symposium is running under the theme: “From adoption to transformation” and ends today.
It serves as a platform where procurement practitioners converge and discuss practical issues relating to public procurement operations.
Mr Manungo said President Mnangagwa was leading from the front to ensure Zimbabwe quickly climbs up the development ladder by implementing the National Development Strategy 1, as the country moved on the journey towards attainment of an empowered and prosperous upper middle income society by 2030.
PRAZ board chair Mrs Vimbai Nyemba said public procurement practitioners should ensure that they responsibly manage the public procurement process within the mandate of the public procurement legal framework.
The symposium came following the Public Procurement Conference held in Victoria Falls last year where stakeholders requested interaction to articulate operational issues.
“I urge you to exert effort towards being public procurement professionals,” said Mrs Nyemba. “I call upon you who are gathered in this room to build the essential skills as basic training if you are serious about meeting the challenges of the current public procurement system.
“Individuals who come to the table with the core competencies and skills in public procurement are more likely to rise through the ranks within institutions and across the industry.”
Mrs Nyemba said such individuals were also more likely to gravitate to organisations that invested in and value these core competencies.
Internal auditor Mr Nathaniel Munhamo said the Act was a good piece of legislation since it addressed the previous weaknesses where heads of departments would source quotations, which they would then approve in the procurement committee where they were members.
Mr Munhamo said now the procurement management unit composed of specialists sourced quotations and prepared an agenda for the evaluation to make appraisals.
“Procurement management units only act as advisors in this assessment,” he said. “They will then make a decision as a unit having regard to recommendations of the evaluations committee.
“A good milestone is the assignment of an accounting officer to be accountable for procurement processes and misprocurement.”
The Public Finance Management Act prohibited advance payments to suppliers although it mostly applied to advances in terms of project funding, he said.
This was in addition to procurement law that ensured payments followed the procurement contract. There have been cases where payments were made in advance, although these were banned under other laws.
