PPRA to target contractors missing 28-day tender deadlines

Dodoma. The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has launched a crackdown on companies that apply for tenders but fail to complete the work within 28 days.

As part of the crackdown, procurement officers and executive directors of local governments have been instructed to report such firms, enabling the PPRA to impose a nationwide ban on their operations.

PPRA's Director-General, Dennis Simba, issued the instruction in Dodoma on Friday, February 7, 2025, during a meeting gathering procurement officers and local government directors.

The meeting focused on encouraging the use of the electronic procurement system (Nest).

Speaking during the event, Mr Simba pointed out that some companies apply for tenders announced by local governments, and win the contracts, but they fail to complete the work.

He said these companies often disappear and stop responding to emails or phone calls, leading local governments to incur additional costs in sourcing new contractors, and causing delays in completing the work.

“If you face such challenges, contact us within 28 days so that we can ban the company from operating in the country,” said Mr Simba.

“Even if the owners attempt to start a new company, they will not be able to operate as the Nest system is linked to 20 institutions, including the National Identification Authority (Nida), the Tanzania Revenue Authority (Nida), and the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (Brela),” he added.

He said the firms will be prohibited from working across the country.

He also noted that this behaviour has been observed among certain companies that win tenders in local governments, causing additional expenses as governments seek new contractors once the time has passed.

Furthermore, Mr Simba highlighted ongoing challenges faced by the authority, including some institutions’ failure to use the Nest system for public procurement, as mandated by law.

However, he said the authority continues to educate and take legal action against institutions that breach these procedures.

Mr Simba also emphasised that the Nest system has helped save approximately Sh14.94 billion during audits of Sh2.7 trillion by monitoring public procurement processes across the country.

PPRA senior legal officer, Mr Deusdedith Bishweko, said the Nest system does not allow anyone to break contracts arbitrarily without following established procedures.

He explained that previous systems allowed individuals to terminate contracts at will, but now contracts cannot be broken easily without following the correct steps.

“Even if someone wants to terminate a contract, they must adhere to the established procedures. Everyone must ensure there are valid reasons for terminating the contract before being allowed to do so, even if the contract value is as low as Sh50,” said Mr Bishweko.

He also mentioned that the system recognises price changes for certain materials in stores, so contractors can be reimbursed for costs exceeding the agreed-upon contract terms once verified by experts.

Mr Bishweko said the system is user-friendly, enabling individuals to access and verify tenders or payments even while travelling or away from the office, as everything is done online.

One of the training participants, Ms Zubeda Mbaga, requested that PPRA visit local governments that are underperforming in using the system and provide further training to procurement professionals, as many of them are unfamiliar with how to use it.

“There are times when we announce tenders up to seven times, but no one applies. We ask for your help with this,” said Ms Mbaga.

“As officials, we need to understand this system properly because we might be making mistakes, and that's why no one is applying for our tenders,” she added.