Bureaucracy fuels tender loopholes

Published: 3 hours ago

The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has raised alarm over weaknesses in the country's public procurement system, warning that bureaucratic loopholes are being exploited by "tenderpreneurs" to win contracts unfairly.

Speaking at the launch of the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS) workshop, PRAZ chief executive officer Dr. Clever Ruswa said collaboration among regulators, procuring entities, and stakeholders was urgently needed to restore integrity and fairness in public procurement.

"No wonder why you then find people with specific resources getting more and more tenders," Dr. Ruswa said. "There's need for a handshake between us as a regulator and ZIDA and the procuring entities also to assess that, because this is where the loophole is coming from."

He acknowledged that exemptions and special arrangements—such as bilateral agreements and public-private partnerships—were often manipulated, giving certain players an unfair advantage. Some entities, he said, bypass rigorous bidding procedures by exploiting political or institutional influence.

Despite growing concerns over "tenderpreneurship," Dr. Ruswa rejected the term as derogatory, stressing that PRAZ's focus was on domestic preferencing and preferential procurement to empower women, youth, tertiary institutions, SMEs, and marginalized groups under Section 29 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.

"Some come through my principals and those people don't go through the rigorous processes that fair bidders go through," he noted. "We need to explain this to our nation instead of just labelling everything as tenderpreneurship."

Dr. Ruswa further highlighted that procurement has been decentralized to 357 entities, including ministries, commissions, state-owned enterprises, and local authorities. He said compliance, transparency, and use of the Electronic Government Procurement (EGP) system were key to curbing abuse.

Reflecting on the 2018 Procurement Act, he admitted compliance gaps continue to undermine procurement integrity:

"During the implementation of this new Act, we could see a lot of gaps…once we comply with such, there won't be any problem. But the fact that people are not complying, there's outcry, and the reputation of the nation is also at stake."

PRAZ board chairperson Ntombenhle Moyo said the MAPS framework would strengthen transparency and efficiency by exposing weaknesses in current processes and guiding reforms under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS1).

"MAPS will also help streamline procurement processes through recommendations that address waste reduction and optimisation of resource allocation. The duplication of projects can be curtailed as policy makers would be informed by data in their decision-making," she said.

The MAPS assessment will review at least 100 tender processes, targeting varied stakeholders to assess strengths and weaknesses.

PRAZ's push for tighter compliance and inclusive participation signals a shift towards a more accountable procurement system. By closing loopholes and reinforcing fair competition, the regulator aims to build a level playing field that empowers SMEs and protects Zimbabwe's reputation in public contracting.
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