Tanzanian moves to enforce digital procurement appeals

Arusha. The Government is in the final stages of completing the 2024 Public Procurement Appeals Regulations, which will require all procurement entities and bidders to carry out their activities exclusively through the National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST).

The new regulations, developed in accordance with the Public Procurement Act Amendments of 2023, are aimed at enhancing governance, transparency, and efficiency in the handling and resolution of public procurement complaints and appeals.

Speaking on Sunday April 13, 2025 in Arusha during a training session on the Complaint and Appeal Management Module of the NeST system, the Executive Secretary of the Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA), Mr James Sando, said the regulations are expected to come into effect in 2025.

Mr Sando stated that, upon enforcement, any procurement-related complaint or appeal not submitted via the NeST platform would not be recognised or processed.

“PPAA will neither recognise nor handle any procurement-related complaints, appeals, or transactions conducted outside of the NeST system, as doing so will be contrary to the law and the newly gazetted regulations,” he said.

He called on all stakeholders under the PPAA and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to register on the NeST platform and conduct all procurement digitally as required by law.

Mr Sando noted that in the past three years, the PPAA had resolved 171 public procurement cases. Of these, 36 contract awards were suspended due to bidders lacking the financial capacity or failing to meet technical qualifications.

He said these interventions helped the government save over Sh543.03 billion, which would otherwise have been allocated to projects at risk of poor implementation or delays—potentially resulting in financial loss and stalled community development.

On her part, the Manager for Appeals and Legal Services at PPAA, Ms Florida Mapunda, said the objective of the training was to equip public procurement stakeholders in the Northern Zone with knowledge on how to utilise the electronic module for submitting and managing complaints through the NeST system.

“The current Public Procurement Act mandates that all procurement processes be conducted electronically via the NeST system,” said Ms Mapunda.

“To support this legal requirement, PPAA has developed a dedicated module for receiving and processing complaints electronically, simplifying submission procedures and improving user efficiency,” she added.

According to Ms Mapunda, the module also facilitates comprehensive record-keeping and tracking of complaint and appeal data across the entire procurement process.

“We want professionals to use this system not only because it is mandatory, but also because it simplifies their work, saves time, and reduces the cost of physically submitting documents to our offices,” she explained.

One of the participants, a Director of Gratian General Supplies based in Karatu, Ms Hilaria Joseph, commended the training, describing it as highly informative in showing how to lodge complaints promptly through the digital system.

“We urge PPAA to further reduce the time it takes to process complaints and minimise bureaucracy. Most importantly, they must ensure the platform is safeguarded against cyber threats and misuse,” she said.