Chomba orders annual refresher courses for procurement officers in councils
GOVERNMENT has directed local authorities to be conducting refresher courses every year for procurement officers to enhance efficiency.
Local Government Permanent Secretary, Ed Chomba said the ministry would work with the Zambia Public Procurement Authority to keep track of the performance of all local authorities.
He said there should be no substitute to efficiency and effectiveness in the local authorities because they were the fulcrum of decentralisation.
He was speaking at graduation ceremony for procurement officers at Chalimbana Local Government Training Institute.
Dr Chomba said that the refresher courses targeted both civic leaders and technocrats in local authorities who were key players in the
procurement process.
He expressed concern that the Auditor General’s reports for the year 2015, 2016 and 2017 revealed an increased in the number of local authorities cited for either non- compliance with procurement procedures or mismanagement of stores.
He warned that the ministry would not condone any breaches in the procurement process.
Dr Chomba added that failure to adhere to procurement guidelines was not an option for procurement officers.
He said that after the training programme, Government expected all local authorities to proactively plan for procurement, facilitate the procurement of quality goods and services and follow the appropriate procedures in the procurement of goods and services.
In a vote of thanks, a civic leader Friday Mulenga thanked Government for working with the Zambia Public Procurement Authority for the training.
Ms Mulenga said that the training that had been undertaken would go a long way in reducing irregularities and omissions that councils were experiencing in the procurement process.