Audits save Govt US$102m: PRAZ
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) says the meticulous evaluation and audits of public contracts saved the Government about US$102 million over the three months to June 2023.
According to PRAZ, the money would have been lost through inflated contracts and bids submitted in the second quarter of 2023.
PRAZ chief executive officer, Clever Ruswa revealed this on the sidelines of the organisation’s reception ceremony for the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems (QMS) certification by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) in Harare yesterday.
The establishment of PRAZ in 2018 has gone a long way in reducing losses from procurement corruption, which was widespread in the course of the previous establishment.
Through discharging its mandate, the authority facilitates Government service delivery by ensuring that public resources are used in an efficient and transparent manner that promotes accountability and yields value in the development of the nation.
The coming into power of the Second Republic has seen the reconstruction of public sector procurement systems as the Government realised that billions of dollars were lost through porous systems.
Mr Ruswa indicated that PRAZ intended to fulfil objective number five of public procurement, which is focussed on value for money through the monitoring and evaluation division.
“US$102 million was saved in the second quarter of 2023, we have the figures, that we are so sure to say, these are procurements which would have ordinarily passed without the involvement of PRAZ and the special procurement oversight committee, we ensured that proper due diligence was carried out before the awarding of contracts.
“When people do direct procurement and unsolicited bids, that’s where they seek to inflate the prices, so we always want to control and see who is getting which tender.
“There are instances per week where an entity especially those in the construction industry charge exorbitantly, then when you insist they carry out due diligence, you find they bring the figure US$10 million less , without the involvement of PRAZ the country would be losing a significant amount of money,” said Mr Ruswa.
The procurement authority is mandated to regulate and supervise public procurement and asset disposal for the Government of Zimbabwe.
PRAZ chairperson, Mrs Vimbai Nyemba, said the ISO certification would allow the organisation to discharge its duties with enhanced credibility as the certification reflects a commitment to delivering high-quality services desirable in public procurement.
She said the certification would improve the regulator’s efficiency.
“ISO 9001:2015 certification ensures that an organisation has effective quality control mechanisms in place.
“It gives the organisation a culture of quality.
“The adoption and implementation of ISO 9001:2015 is not merely a compliance exercise; rather, it is a stepping stone towards the Authority’s transformation and enhancement,” said Mrs Nyemba.
The Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) acting director general Cosmus Mukoyi said the certification process went beyond the piece of paper but entailed the beginning of a continuous improvement journey, making better systems.
“This certification demonstrates PRAZ’s commitment and dedication to improving the quality of the public procurement system in Zimbabwe.
“PRAZ’s ISO 9001 certification further underlines the continued commitment of the leadership and staff to providing high-quality customer service anchored on international best practices.
‘‘This sets the tone to effective public procurement in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Mukoyi.
Currently, PRAZ is using the modular approach where supplier registration is partially done online, or else the bidding community accesses PRAZ services through Zimpost infrastructure which is dotted around the country.
The regulator is however working on introducing electronic government procurement (EGP), also known as e-procurement or supplier exchange.
It is a business-to-business process of requisitioning, ordering, and purchasing goods and services online facilitating interactions between preferred suppliers and customers through bids, purchase orders, and invoices using a supplier’s closed system.
-herald
