The 40-clause bill, that seeks to make
amendments to the Public Procurement Act, 2011, was approved after
protracted deliberations between the government, parliamentary budget
committee and legislators.
All the sides were locked in a
tug-of-war as they debated a number of clauses and sections of the
document with a view to refine it after the House had sat as a
committee.
But at the end, the bill passed
smoothly, after the Parliament had adopted a number of amendments
proposed by Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango, the budget
committee, under Ms Hawa Ghasia and other lawmakers.
“The Parliament has endorsed the Public
Procurement Bill, which was the source of major outcry by most
legislators. It will now be sent to the president for his assent,” said
the Deputy Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson, who expressed optimism that the
bill would have farreaching implications for the nation’s progress.
In their contributions for the bill, the
Budget Committee and MPs lauded the decision to amend Section 50 with a
view to reduce costs by departing from the requirement to procure
through a closed framework, which dictates agreed prices set forth by
GPSA.
Presenting her committee’s views on the
bill, Ms Ghasia said: “Procurement stakeholders have long been
complaining that this system adds to bureaucracy and inflates prices.”
Vywawa Lawmaker Japheth Hasunga (CCM)
also thumbed up the bill, noting that reducing the time taken for
tendering process and favouring local contractors and companies were
among the positive aspects in the new bill.
“To favour local contractors, companies
and experts is very important, we cannot have sustainable development if
we keep relying on foreign experts, we cannot have sustainable
development if we continue depending on foreign companies,” charged
Hasunga, who also hailed the introduction of open framework, saying the
agency’s agreed prices were higher compared to market prices.
Another lawmaker who contributed to the
bill was Martha Mlata (Special Seats- CCM). She praised President John
Magufuli for his pledge to amend the Public Procurement Act of 2011 when
inaugurating the 11th Parliament last November.
Ms Mlata hailed the decision to favour
and empower local firms but urged the government to ensure locals are
not undermined by foreign companies, who often submit low bids with the
view to scuffle local bidders.
Another contributor was Babati Rural MP
(CCM), Jitu Vrajlal Son, who described it as “the most important law
that will decide whether the country attain the muchsought economic
prosperity or not.”
In their contributions, Kangi Lugola
(Mwibara- CCM), John Kadutu (Ulyankulu-CCM) and Edward Mwalongo (Njombe
Urban-CCM) suggested that the government should address payment delays
to curb the problem of inflated prices.
They implored the government to
accelerate payments to suppliers, service providers and contractors for
the proposed law to have desired effects, noting that suppliers were
trying to mitigate risks, opportunities and cost of delayed payments by
inflating initial prices.
“How prepared is the government to
accelerate payments to suppliers and contractors? Without the
government’s commitment to pay contractors timely, this Act will not be
successful,” Mr Lugola warned. Muheza MP (CCM) Adadi Rajabu recalled
that public procurement was a measure of government’s performance and
how it fights corruption.
“All grand corruption cases originate
from government tendering and procurement,” he noted, adding that the
proposed bill was very important since it stressed value for money.
“Many procurement laws, including those
of World Bank and European Union insist on value for money,” he pointed
out. For her side, Ms Amina Mollel, (Special Seats-CCM), welcomed the
provision that makes it mandatory for procuring entities to consider
special groups, including women, youth, elderly and persons with
disabilities, but called for good implementation of the same.
Njombe North legislator (CCM) Deo Sanga
said the bill came at an opportune time and will save taxpayers’ money,
saying a provision that affords procuring entities to procure goods
directly from manufacturers and wholesalers or service providers, will
help check wastage in public expenditure.
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