Maravi

‘Procurement officers should be wary of temptations’

‘Procurement officers should be wary of temptations’
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Sun 28 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT

COPPERBELT Energy Corporation managing director -operations Neil Croucher says procurement officers should be wary of temptations that have damaged the image of their profession.

Speaking in Kitwe last Friday, during the ‘Meet the buyer’ dinner dance organised by the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply Copperbelt Chapter at Hotel Edinburgh, Croucher said it was unfortunate that purchasing and supply was greatly exposed to corruption and fraud.

He said the mechanisms that were put in place to protect against fraud and corruption needed to be carefully considered otherwise they have the potential to lead to cumbersome and slow processes leading to the loss of confidence from internal customers and bypassing of the system.

And Mining Suppliers and Contractors Association president Fanwell Banda has said there is need to develop systems that are above individuals in public procurement.

Banda said procurement was a critical factor in developing small and medium scale businesses, hence the need to create systems that would protect the integrity of the profession.

He noted that many organisations had lost huge amounts of money due to corruption in procurement processes and that such corruption is rampant in both government and private institutions.

Banda said there was need to promote ethical business standards. He said investors coming into the country should develop the confidence that Zambians run clean business devoid of corruption.

Labels: CEC, CORRUPTION, FANWELL BANDA, NEIL CROUCHER

posted by MrK @ 4:27 PM