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Konga calls for strengthening of procurement systems

Konga calls for strengthening of procurement systems
By Kabanda Chulu
Tuesday October 02, 2007 [04:01]

Zambia needs to develop capacity to strengthen its procurement systems in order to compete effectively under the COMESA customs union, acting commerce minister Kenneth Konga has said. The customs union will come into effect next year. And Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) acting secretary general ambassador Nagla El-Hussainy has urged member countries to guard against poor procurement systems because they result in increased prices and inappropriate utilisation of resources.

During the COMESA awareness and sensitisation seminar on public procurement reforms held in Lusaka last week, Konga said Zambia’s skills’ levels in the area of procurement was still insufficient and needed to be supported for it to compete effectively at regional and international levels.
He said to modernise and maintain a good procurement system was an ongoing and rigorous exercise that required sufficient human resources with adequate knowledge capacity and skills.

“Zambia has made some impressive strides towards the development of a modern public procurement system and institutions and we have also developed a team of specialists in public procurement in our National Tender Board,” Konga said. “But we are not without gaps and weaknesses in the respective institutions and systems and our skills levels are still far from satisfactory and sufficient. Hence, there is need to strengthen our procurement systems through training to raise professionalism, skills and performance standards in order to compete effectively under the COMESA customs union.”

By December 2008, COMESA would become a customs union that would result in member states’ economies to be merged by integrating and unifying the current separate customs territories into one with a Common External Tariff (CET).

And the objective of establishing a CET was to give COMESA producers the opportunity and time to become regionally competitive, as way of enabling them to mature, integrate and compete on the international market.

Konga also said good public procurement systems would promote competition and reduce incentives for corrupt practices.

He said public procurement markets were vital for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and have potential to provide them critical sustainability and growth.

“The way government manages its commercial relationship with the business community has a strong influence on the behaviour and dynamism of the private sector hence good procurement systems will promote competition through price reduction and importantly reducing the cost of doing business,” said Konga. “Moreover, public procurement markets are very vital for SMEs and have potential to provide them critical sustainability and growth, especially in our country where the government is the biggest purchaser of works of construction, goods and services.”

And Ambassador El-Hussainy said there was need to promote good governance through transparency and accountability in public procurement.

“Efficient and effective public procurement systems are essential to the promotion of sustainable development and good and modernised procurement systems are crucial to the effectiveness of public spending and investment,” said Ambassador El-Hussainy. “And member states should guard against poor procurement systems because they lead to inappropriate and irrational utilisation of resources, increase in prices and cost of doing business hence resulting in non-accomplishment of socio-economical goals.”

Since 2002 COMESA had been at the forefront of reforming regional procurement systems through an initial project which ended in 2004 and therefore COMESA requested the African Development Bank (AfDB) for additional assistance to finance a follow-up project designed to sustain the procurement reforms commenced under the pioneered project.

The AfDB agreed to provide funding and together with COMESA launched the US $9million grant Enhancing Procurement Reforms and Capacity Project (EPRCP).

And some of the EPRCP’s intended objective was to enhance the public procurement systems of member states by modernising and harmonising the laws, regulations and procedures needed to strengthen the countries’ capacity to manage modern public procurement systems effectively.

Labels: COMESA, KENNETH KONGA, PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS

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