Kenya was the first country in Africa to implement an automated procurement and payment system in an attempt to enhance transparency, accountability and fairness. The World Bank, a funder of telecom and construction projects in Africa, is providing financial and technical support for e-procurement initiatives in several African countries including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mauritius, Cameroon, Uganda and now, Zambia.
Zambia and Kenya have recently been forced to cancel telecom tenders worth millions of dollar because of corruption in the manner in which senior government officials awarded contracts to suppliers. The central problem is that government officials take kickbacks from vendors to award contracts and inflate project costs.
Contracts for telecom projects in several other African countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Algeria, have also been hit with allegations of corruption.
In Zambia, the Anti-Corruption Commission is still investigating telecom tenders that were allegedly improperly awarded to China-based ZTE and Star Software Technologies for, respectively, projects involving installation of anticrime closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the streets and a broadcast digital migration project.
Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) Director General Chibelushi Musongole said the country’s e-procurement system will reduce malpractice and improve efficiency in monitoring bids and contracts. Interested bidders, Musongole said, will be able to submit their offers from anywhere in the world via the ZPPA website. Bidders will have automated compliance validation during bid submissions. The system is expected to curb corruption because it will reduce face-to-face transactions and there will be anonymity of bidders until bids are opened.
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