Former President of Tanzania, Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, has called on the Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA) to play a key role in improving public procurement processes to ensure the government achieves optimal value for money in its projects, thus saving public funds.
Dr. Kikwete made this call during his visit to the PPAA booth at the Law Week exhibition, which began on January 25, 2025, at Nyerere Square in Dodoma.
Reflecting on his time as president, Dr. Kikwete shared an example of a local council that built a structure for 15 million shillings using its own resources, only to be told that they had to go through a public tender process. After the tender was advertised, the final cost of the building ballooned to 45 million shillings.
"At that time, I was shown a building that had cost three times the amount initially planned. This is why we need to ensure that procurement processes are transparent and effective in delivering the best value for the people," Dr. Kikwete emphasized.
He stressed that public procurement laws should not only promote fairness but also contribute to the realization of true value for taxpayers’ money in government projects.
In a briefing, PPAA Senior Officer Mr. Stanley Jackson informed Dr. Kikwete that over the past four years, the authority had successfully handled 162 cases related to public procurement processes.
These efforts led to the blocking of 35 tenders, worth a total of 583.6 billion shillings, awarded to bidders who lacked financial capacity or the professional qualifications needed to execute the projects.
"This has prevented the poor execution of projects that would otherwise waste public resources and delay development in communities," Mr. Jackson said.
Further strengthening the transparency of procurement processes, Mr. Jackson also revealed that PPAA, in collaboration with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), has developed an electronic system for handling complaints and appeals.
The new system, part of the Electronic Public Procurement System (NeST), will allow bidders to file complaints and appeals digitally, eliminating the need for in-person visits to submit these requests.
"To facilitate the use of this system, PPAA and PPRA have organized training sessions in Mwanza for bidders and procurement staff from the Mwanza, Shinyanga, Kagera, Musoma, Geita, and Simiyu regions. The training will take place from February 4-6, 2025, at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) hall in Capripoint," Mr. Jackson added.
The PPAA, established under the Public Procurement Act No. 10 of 2023, is tasked with overseeing procurement appeals and ensuring that suppliers who do not meet the necessary criteria are excluded from the bidding process, working closely with the PPRA to uphold the integrity of public procurement.
This year’s Law Week is being observed under the theme: "Tanzania 2050: The Role of Institutions in Safeguarding Justice to Achieve National Development Goals."
