Story by Owen Mandovha, Business Reporter
The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has partnered with the National Competitiveness Commission to promote fair pricing in public procurement and reduce overspending and leakages.
As the largest buyer of goods and services in the country, the government pays private suppliers hundreds of millions of dollars annually for procurement but faces risks associated with overpricing and tender malpractices.
PRAZ has signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Competitiveness Commission to establish a national market price index as a control mechanism to foster fair pricing and promote pricing competitiveness.
“As PRAZ we are always on the lookout to ensure that we reduce overspending through public procurement by preventing tendering malpractices and overpricing and ensuring that everything is done according to international best practices,” said PRAZ CEO, Mr Clever Ruswa.
The National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) says this measure safeguards the national fiscus.
“A competitive procurement framework ensures that we don’t raise taxes to cater for lost revenue from overpriced invoices and the national market pricing index will create that strong framework for transparency,” noted
National Competitiveness Commission Executive Director, Mr Phillip Phiri.
PRAZ revealed last year it saved over US$130 million, from overpriced invoices that were red-flagged, hence this partnership is expected to result in more savings on the national purse.
