Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tedious public procurement processes delaying the pace of national development-Minister

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KIPUSHI border Immigration department officer-in-charge Brighton Songiso (right) leads Home Affairs deputy minister Nickson Chilangwa (left) and regional Immigration officer Mufalili Nasilele (middle) during the conducted tour of Immigration houses at Kipushi border post, about 136 km east of Solwezi district  in Solwezi east constituency
KIPUSHI border Immigration department officer-in-charge Brighton Songiso (right) leads Home Affairs deputy minister Nickson Chilangwa (left) and regional Immigration officer Mufalili Nasilele (middle) during the conducted tour of Immigration houses at Kipushi border post, about 136 km east of Solwezi district in Solwezi east constituency

Home Affairs Deputy Minister Nickson Chilangwa says long and tedious public procurement processes are delaying the pace of national development.

Mr. Chilangwa said the PF government is failing to execute some of its urgent plans because Zambia’s public procurement processes take long to complete.

He said some of the requirements in public procurement are unnecessary and create an opportunity for corruption.

“We have to reform our procurement laws, there is no way we could develop this country if it will take us six months to procure anything for the good of the nation,” Mr Chilangwa said.

He cited the procurement planned procurement of modern crowd control equipment for the Zambia Police Service as one which is being frustrated by the long procurement processes.

“Everybody knows that we need to get modern equipment for our officers. There are now more riots breaking out and our officers need better protection and everybody knows the urgency of the matter but if the Permanent Secretary or the IG wakes up one day and say buys the equipment, everybody will start saying abuse of office. This is nonsense and we have to change this.”

He warned that Zambia will continue lagging behind unless serious public procurement reforms are under taken.

“There are so many things we need to change in this country but our very laws are holding us back,” Mr. Chilangwa said.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Well said bwana, amendment indeed is need but not breaking it, and every one knows red tape just frustrate progress but amending it will be welcomed move…..but yet again we know that amending any such laws again will take two years by then your government if not careful would have been voted out and people would have forgotten what causes such delays to developing our mother Zambia

  2. If it were RB, he would have removed the abuse of office clause from the ACC Act instead of reforming the Public Procurement Act, that corrupt chap!

  3. That red tape is there to stop YOU, sir, from handing contracts to YOUR relatives or to YOURSELF. Leave it as it is.

  4. OK, this is MOHA but is crowd control really the best example of a “development plan” this cadre can think of as being held up by slow procurement?

    Increased riots? Bwahahahah… maybe the deputy minister should ask himself WHY there are increased riots!

    Could it be because of PF’s flip-flops and unfulfilled promises? Or maybe it’s because this “listening government” prefers to bottle things up by refusing to allow any kind of demonstration against its policies?

    Anyway, before expressing frustration with established procedure, this cadre would do well to say how relaxing procurement rules DESIGNED TO PREVENT CORRUPTION would somehow have the opposite effect. The rules are there for a reason and the last thing we need are more contracts given out as patronage!

  5. Forward planning can also help. How often should government houses be repainted for-example, then the six months waiting period is more than sufficient.

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