The Ministry of Land Management, Water and sanitation Services recorded the highest value of awarded tenders at P1, 878 billion in contrast to that of Transport and Communication which was the highest in the previous financial year at P938.2million.
The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) latest annual report for the 2018/19 financial year shows that the Ministry of Health and Wellness came second among high spenders for the period under review at the value of P1, 732billion.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, as well as that of Transport and Communication spent P59 million and P239 million respectively. The Ministry of Finance and Economic development had the least value of tenders awarded by the board at P9.7million.
The remaining thirteen ministries did not submit any requests to award tenders to the Board as they did not have projects that exceeded the Ministerial Tender Committees and District Administration Tender Committees thresholds. The total value of tenders awarded from Ministries amounted to P3, 918billion compared to P1, 908billion in the financial year 2017/18, a significant increase by P2.0billion. This was a result of a high value tenders awarded from Ministry of Health and that of Lands and Water.
According to the PPADB report, the total value of procurement for PPADB and its Committees for the 2018/19 financial year amounted to P10.64billion, excluding micro procurement by Ministries.
This is lower than the 2017/18 financial year figure of P11.322billion. Revenue generated through contractor registration during the reporting period increased by 0.02percent from P12, 6million in the previous year to P12, 85million in 2018/19 financial year showing that the registration has stabilized over the years.
PPADB’s Executive Chairperson, Elijah Motshedi has noted, with concern, that there is need for procuring entities to improve adherence to procurement plans for timely implementation of projects.
He noted that, “delays in initiation of procurement by procuring entities, evaluation of tenders, and contracting including poor scoping or inadequate specifications and retroactive requests remain a concern to the Boards they contribute towards long turnaround time of the procurement cycle thus discrediting the procurement system.”
The PPADB boss also raised a concern that the process of transferring funds by some procuring entities after award of tenders or initiation of procurement and introduction of new factors at evaluation stage results in numerous complaints and delayed procurement. The absence of District Administration Tender Committee Secretaries he also noted it as a going concern.
The Board continues to operate with a limited annual budget resulting in deficit that is financed through cash accumulated in the previous years, therefore Motshedi suggests for the need to revisit PPADB’s annual budget with a view to align it with strategic plan and key activities. He assured that the Board will also continue to review its cost recovery initiatives to lessen dependence on government subvention.
