The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has noted a major transformation in the public procurement system in the country that has enhanced efficiency, transparency, accessibility and minimised corruption courtesy of the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system.
Officially launched by President Mnangagwa in October last year at the third Annual Public Procurement Conference PRAZ in Harare, the system which became operational on 1 January this year will minimise human assistance in the awarding of tenders and help tackle corruption.
This comes as the country has embarked on a digitisation drive by implementing policies and programmes that lay a strong digital foundation, which is key to realising the vision of an e-Government in all sectors.
In a statement recently, PRAZ said the eGP system was a real game changer whose aim was to transform public procurement in the country.
“The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe is pleased to announce that the electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system is now here. This game-changer is here to transform the public procurement system in Zimbabwe.”
The authority said the system was accessible to people from the comfort of their office or home and from any device that can access internet, while to register as a supplier, people can visit https://egp.praz.org.zw
In a previous interview, PRAZ capacity building director, Mr Cliff Gondo said they were envisioning that all Government entities will be onboard on the e-GP system by the end of first quarter of 2024.
“We are hoping that by the end of the first quarter of 2024 all state entities will be now onboard with regards to the electronic Government Procurement system. The system which was launched by President Mnangagwa on 23 October 2023 will result in greater transparency in procurement processes,” he said.
“Transparency is one of the best tools for fighting corruption. We are happy to say that the system also brings a lot of conveniences to the biding community we will now have a situation where our bidders do not have to travel across the country to submit biding documents they will now be able to do that from the comfort of their homes.”
He said the system will have the capability to evaluate tenders electronically without human interference up to 70 percent, while the small tenders where they will be just comparing prices will be done 100 percent using the e-GP.
