By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Finance and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube has announced that the government has introduced a national standard price list to address overpricing in public procurement.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Ncube said the move comes after concerns that some suppliers have been charging excessive prices for goods and services procured by government.
Beitbridge suppliers once raised the concerns that government payments in local currency (ZiG) sometimes complicate imports requiring foreign currency, and that delays in payment combined with inflation have encouraged some suppliers to overprice.
The concerns were raised during the Supplier Engagement Meeting held in January by the Municipality of Beitbridge, which invited local organisations and suppliers to discuss registration with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
Ncube said under the new system, any procurement price that exceeds the set range will be flagged and rejected.
The price list has been integrated into the e-procurement system managed by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), and is also accessible on the PRAZ website as well as the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion platforms.
Ncube said the standard pricing framework targets goods and services that government typically procures locally.
He said that government prefers to pay for locally produced goods in Zimbabwe Gold currency(ZiG) to promote demand for the domestic currency.
“I am pleased that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has given assurance that any entity requiring foreign currency for legitimate imports can approach the central bank for support,” he said.
Ncube further noted that authorities have adequate foreign currency reserves to meet demand for imports where necessary.
The initiative is also aimed at bringing order to government procurement processes by ensuring prices remain within reasonable limits, preventing over-contracting, and enabling timely payments to contractors, said Ncube