LOOPHOLES in the highly- contested Public Procurement Act of 2011 that led to inflated costs and corruption in public procurement will be something of the past as the government tabled for first reading in the National Assembly a bill seeking to amend the legislation.
The Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill,
2016, tabled on Thursday proposes efficiency in procuring goods and
services reflecting prevailing market prices, enjoy benefits such as
bulky procurement accruing from use of standardised requirements,
minimise corruption loopholes and increase accountability in
procurement.
It as well proposes to make amendments
in the legislation to boost efficiency in public procurement by
minimising procurement transaction costs and processing time to ensure
value for money in public procurement.
Shortly after it was moved for first
reading in the House, the Deputy Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson, directed the
Parliamentary Committee to start deliberating the schedule.
The tabling falls in line with a pledge
made by President John Magufuli during his inaugural speech of the 11th
Parliament in November last year, where he hinted that the procurement
law would be amended to seal loopholes for embezzlement of public funds.
Dr Magufuli spoke at length how the
legislation was being abused by unscrupulous suppliers who quote
inflated and unrealistic prices of commodities, causing massive losses
of public funds.
As posted on the Parliament website on
Thursday, the amendments intend, among others, to review institutional
arrangement and responsibilities within procuring entities in order to
reduce costs and increase efficiency.
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