Matambo implores PPADB to stamp out corruption
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday January 26, 2016 09:52
Matambo said this when officiating at the opening of the PPADB office in Francistown last Friday.
He said public procurement by its nature was prone to corruption as it was the meeting place for the public and private sector. He said this called for the need for the PPADB to develop initiatives to find more effective ways of mitigating corruption risks in public procurement with the cooperation of procuring entities and contractors.
“I call upon all members of the public to report any corruption they become aware of to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) for investigation and appropriate action,” he said. Matambo cautioned people who made reckless and unfounded allegations that were not helpful to anybody but could only erode confidence in the procurement system.
In addition to the role played by the PPADB, there was also the Independent Complaints Review Committee, which was made up of experts from the private sector, whose role was to review the decisions of the PPADB and procuring entities.
“My plea to the contracting community is for them to avoid frivolous complaints, some of which are intended to frustrate the government’s efforts to provide timely service to Batswana,” he added.
He said public procurement was a competitive undertaking that created winners and losers, hence not all companies that bid could win tenders.
Matambo also said public procurement was a governance issue, as it was about optimal use of public resources to create works, supplies and services for the benefit of the public.
As a result, he said, PPADB had a difficult task of managing procurement and making award decisions for major tenders. In 2012, PPADB introduced contractor registration that was part of the integrated procurement management system.
Matambo said the system had intensified the monitoring of compliance to the PPADB Act and also supported capacity building with the assistance of strategic partners such as the World Bank and Botswana Accountancy College.
“The board conducts random project site visits and project audits to check if execution is in line with tender awards,” he said.
He added that given their negative impact on service delivery, project implementation and contract management by procuring entities needed to improve.
The mayor of Francistown, Sylvia Muzila, welcomed the opening of the PPADB office in her city, especially that many government agencies were centralised in Gaborone.
Muzila said the absence of a PPADB office had been a concern to the community of Francistown for years. She said she hoped that the office would create business opportunities and support the city’s development.
“We requested this office through a motion at the Francistown City Council (FCC) and we are happy that the motion succeeded and the office is finally opened here,” she said.