Public procurement to go digital in June

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) says it will this June roll out some of the projects of the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System.

The system, which uses digital technologies to facilitate the procurement of goods and services by government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) is touted to have the potential to enable procuring and disposing entities (PDEs) to publish tender notices, receive bids from suppliers and manage contracts.

Delivering a public lecture titled ‘Understanding public procurement: The case of Malawi’ at the Catholic University (CU) of Malawi in  Chiradzulu yesterday, PPDA director general Edington Chilapondwa said the adoption of electronic procurement through the e-GP system and the e-Government Marketplace (e-GM) platform will enhance efficiency in public procurement processes in Malawi.

He said: “We want to sanitise public procurement by digitising the procurement system.

“The vendor is already on the ground and by June, we may roll out some of the projects of the system. Once we digitise, corruption will go down as the system will eliminate face to face interface, which encourages corruption.”

Chilapondwa urged public officers, bidders and suppliers to adhere to ethical conduct to build public trust and ensure fairness in public procurement.

He observed that public procurement is playing a crucial role in ensuring attainment of Malawi 2063 through efficient and transparent procurement processes, promotion of local industries, driving innovation, and adopting new technologies.

“We are debarring all corrupt suppliers. So far, we have banned five and we are working on six cases which may lead to debarment also,” he said.

Chilapondwa said the banned six suppliers allegedly failed to execute contractual obligations and submitted false information during bidding.

On his part, CU head of accountancy department Brown Kalinga welcomed the roll out of the e-GP system, saying the country is moving towards digitalisation; hence, the plan is a move in the right direction.

In 2020, PPDA announced plans to implement e-procurement to root out corruption in public procurement as about 70 percent of the national budget is spent on procurement.

Public procurement contracts have been fraught with corruption in the country with some public officers convicted for cutting corners.