Bill seeks faster tender action

ABDALLAH MSUYA in Dodoma

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango.

FINANCE and Planning Minister Dr Phillip Mpango on Tuesday tabled in parliament the Public Procurement Amendment Bill 2016, which among other things, intends to reduce time taken in processing national tenders.

The bill also aims to set a system that will empower special groups to participate in public procurement undertakings as well establish engagement of local firms in procurement that involves foreign firms.

Dr Mpango explained that after the bill is assented to, he would change regulations to reduce time taken for processing national tenders for procurement of goods, construction engineering and services -- from 91 days (stipulated in existing regulations) to 49 days, whilst reducing time for processing international tenders from 100 days to 56.

“Clause 12 proposes to amend Section 35 to reduce time taken for procurement processing by excluding the requirement for the accounting officer to seek prior approval of the tender board before signing a procurement contract,” Dr Mpango explained.

According to Dr Mpango, the bill also aims to set a system that will empower the special groups to participate in public procurement undertakings as well as establish the engagement of local firms in procurement that involves foreign firms.

“The bill will make it mandatory for procuring entities, when selecting procurement methods for the benefit of achieving certain social objectives, to consider special groups including women, youth, elderly and persons with disabilities,” the minister told the House.

It also seeks to promote use of goods manufactured locally and related services in international competitive tendering as well as building capacity to local firms in procurement undertakings.

Under the new bill, the authority, upon receipt of recommendations by the procuring entities, would be able to make declaration for debarment period against tenderers and their directors, who will be determined to have engaged in corrupt, fraudulent and coercive practices in procurement process.

“This amendment aims at regulating fairness of actionable measures,” Dr Mpango said.

The minister further explained that the bill proposes amendments to the Public Procurement Act, 2011, with a view to enabling efficiency in regulating procurement processes, to ensure value for money in public procurement and to provide for other related matters.

“This bill addresses weaknesses experienced under the current Public Procurement Act, and introduces sustainable public procurement framework contracting and electronic procurement,” Dr Mpango told the House.

He said the amendments were intending, among other things, to review institutional arrangement and responsibilities within procuring entities to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

“The proposed amendments intend to; increase efficiency in public procurement by minimising procurement transaction costs and processing time, procuring goods and services reflecting prevailing market prices,” the finance minister noted.

The bill, when assented to, will amend certain relevant sections of the current Procurement Act, setting legal requirement on the use of Government approved standards and to set legal requirement enhancing transparency and accountability in procurement system.

The current Public Procurement Act was enacted in 2011 but officially started to be implemented in December 2013 as part of efforts to ensure good governance and improve public financial management in Tanzania.

The act provided national rules on public procurement to foster fair, competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and value for money procurement standards and practices.

However, after two years of implementation, the act has exposed some administrative bottlenecks, delays and imbalances in the procurement structure that have been created, necessitating a review.