Integrity deficiency in procurement
DURING the early 1990s and 2000s, public entities used to contribute 40 percent to Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but this has since declined to less than 10 percent owing to poor performance.
Mishandling procurement is one of the main reasons behind this.
Integrity deficiency in procurement in Zimbabwe refers to the perception by individuals when they come across the word “procurement”.
It is usually associated with corruption and misappropriation of scarce financial resources for personal gain.
As professionals, we have to redeem our lost creditability by observing professional ethical values and upholding our integrity pledge.
Generally, integrity refers to the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
It also means behaving in accordance with ethical principles and acting in good faith.
A procurement practitioner is someone who is entrusted to commit organisational funds through the procurement process, up to the preparation of the final report for approval by the accounting officer.
The integrity of a procurement practitioner is a journey, which takes up to 15 years — from early childhood development, through primary and secondary school — to acquire the requisite skills.
The journey still continues — nine more years to get to PhD level — to gain the necessary experience to be a leading executive.
The aspirations to be a qualified practitioner will have been embedded through the university’s heritage-based Education 5.0, including guidance from parents and guardians.
As a trained practitioner, one is expected to abide by the rules of the profession and observe ethical values of the discipline through being trustworthy, fair, transparent and empathetical, as well as recognising issues of environment, social and governance.
The practitioner is also expected to abide by the rules of the land, which is the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Section 315).
This is the supreme law of the land, which gave birth to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act (Chapter 22:23 of 2017) and the regulations of 2018.
One is expected to be guided by the laiddown rules and regulations of the Act. There is no need to reinvent the wheel in terms of rules and regulations, but that does not stop one from being innovative.
Professional practitioners are expected to think outside the box or throw away the box when it is necessary.
Where there are grey areas in the PPDPA Act and the regulation, for clarity’s sake, the procurement officer is expected to exercise the rules of corporate governance, for example, follow the best procurement practices guided by the regulator.
Always consult the regulator, the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), for more clarity and interpretation when in doubt of provisions of procurement.
Further, always scan the environment for possible risks when carrying out the procurement process.
The focus of the regulator in the public sector is mainly to regulate the procurement function of Government ministries and other agencies that are commercial and non-commercial.
To outline objectives of public sector procurement — which are to ensure transparency, fairness, honesty, cost effectiveness and maintenance of integrity of the public institutions — there is need to promote competition among bidders, as well as provide for the fair and equitable treatment of all bidders.
This leads to procurement contracts that provide value for money. However, there are challenges to procurement integrity such as ignoring governance issues despite practitioners having the requisite skills, qualifications, experience and extensive training.
Some procurement officers also get pressure to live modern lifestyles, which lead them to entertain brown envelopes.
And sometimes the salaries are not enough. But procurement officers need to build on their careers and reputation.
Remember, procurement professionals are entrusted with sharing the scarce national financial resources from the organisation’s budget, so their integrity and commitment towards contributing to the country’s economic growth is critical.
Be analytical in terms of numbers or figures; be able to produce reports; be value-oriented in your procurement dealings (cheap is not always cheap); be pro-active and innovative; and always be ready to provide or pre-empt necessary information to your users or senior management. In addition, be prepared to show your skills — not your qualification — because a skill creates a future legacy for yourself through integrity.
The fact that we intend to become an upper middle-income economy by 2030 also means the financial success of organisations in Zimbabwe cannot be separated from the supply chain.
The success of a procurement officer is not measured by his financial status but by how much he invests in his integrity towards the success of the organisation.
Forward-thinking is critical for the procurement officer in Zimbabwe.
It is also necessary to be a member of a professional body such as the Zimbabwe Institute of Procurement and Supply for you to remain relevant.
Integrity in procurement is the cornerstone of one’s aspirations to success and contribution to the achievement of an organisation’s objectives or economic growth of Zimbabwe.
As true practitioners, the issue of integrity deficiency in procurement through loss of creditability and trust among our stakeholders must be taken seriously as this can be a weapon of mass destruction to our endeavours in rebuilding Zimbabwe.