By Ms Chileshe Mange
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) commends the decision by Cabinet to approve the publication and introduction of the Public Procurement Bill, 2020 in the next Parliamentary sitting.
In a Press statement issued by the Chief Government Spokesperson Honourable Dora Siliya on the decisions made by Cabinet at the 17th Cabinet Meeting held at State House on 23rd July, 2020, it was announced that the Procurement Bill has been approved for publication and introduction in Parliament during the next sitting.
If passed into legislation, the Procurement Bill will repeal and replace the existing Public Procurement Act No. 12 of 2008. This, according to the Press Statement has been necessitated by the need to enhance legislation on public procurement by including provisions that will strengthen enforcement mechanisms in the regulation of procurements, while also enhancing the participation of citizens in public procurement, through the use of electronic systems in the process.
Among the functions of the Procurement Bill is the strengthening of the oversight and regulatory role of the Zambia Public Procurement Authority. Given Zambia’s external debt stock (which as at February 12, 2020 stood at USD 11.2 Billion) and the rising fiscal deficit, a situation not made easier by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative now more than ever that the legal framework manage the organizational operations of public expenditure. According to the World Bank Zambia’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is expected to reach 92 percent by the end of 2020 and 98 percent by the end of 2021 in the absence of prudent financial management and fiscal policy reform.
Aside from the fiscal and political structure of public finance management, the functions of several institutions such as procurement authorities and/or regulators play a critical role in the way that public funds are spent and managed. Public procurement, which typically, in the absence of debt servicing, is the second largest public expenditure after salaries. Public procurement is an essential tool for government considering its link with the pillars of effective governance which include, improved public service delivery, value for money, and an enabling environment for private sector-led growth thereby contributing directly to improving a country’s business, investment, and social environments. The foregoing also speaks to another of the Procurement Bill’s functions which is to enable and allow Zambians to participate in matters pertaining to procurement and contribute to the development of the country.
For these reasons, CTPD is encouraged by the announcement by Cabinet that the Procurement Bill has been approved for publication and introduction at the next Parliament sitting. It is noted however, that the National Planning and Budgeting Bill of 2019 (the “Planning and Budgeting Bill”), is currently at the second reading stage in Parliament. The Planning and Budgeting Bill is a crucial piece of legislation which provides for an integrated national planning and budgeting process; as well as strengthened accountability, oversight and participation mechanisms in the national planning and budgeting process. The enactment and implementation of one without the other would therefore be ineffective.
In a nutshell however, the undertaking to enact robust legislation in relation to public procurement is particularly welcome as it will enhance the overall legal framework in respect of public debt and expenditure and the management thereof. Together with the Procurement Bill, the Planning and Budgeting Bill represent a positive step in Public Finance Management reform.
The Author is a CTPD Senior Researcher-Legal, a not- for –profit, membership based trade policy and development think tank. The organization was established in 1999 and existed as the civil society trade network (CSTNZ), until 2009 when it was rebranded as the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD).
That picture looks like that viral video from Kitwe Genera! hospital ward. What a mess.
Excellent development. Nostra keep gnashing your teeth. Nostra you ain’t Zambian now, as such even those rats at the hospital are more important to us than your opinion. After all at least those rats are in Zambia and don’t cowardly abroad to milk other countries like a baby hyena.
Nostradamus
Indeed , rats are eating patients in wards and lungu and his gang are oblivious , pretending to be working behind laptops…
To me it is the expensive military fighting equipment lungu bought the police as if Zambia is at war while patient wards are over run with rats, that pains the most……