The Commissioner of the Department of Public Procurement Policy, Dr. Fredrick Mwakibinga has launched a module for submitting and handling appeal complaints, citing the system as eliminating the backlog of documents and bidders wasting time following the service at the Dodoma headquarters.

Speaking during the launch of the module today, January 4, 2025, Dr. Mwakibinga, who represented the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba, said that previously bidders were forced to submit hard documents to the headquarters but now everything will be done online without having to meet directly with the service provider.

“This module which works through the new Public Procurement Electronic System (Nest) under the supervision of the Public Procurement Appeal Authority (PPAA) will reduce costs and monitoring time as well as bring efficiency to government work and reduce corruption loopholes,” said Dr. Mwakibinga.

Regarding contractors' claims, Dr. Mwakibinga said that the regulations are being updated to comply with the Public Procurement Act of 2023 which will help eliminate these frequent complaints.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the PPAA, James Sando said that the module has been completed by the Authority in collaboration with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to help submit and handle appeals and complaints electronically.

Similarly, Sando said that the PPAA in carrying out its duties in the past four years has handled 162 cases arising from public procurement processes, of which 32 cases have been resolved and saved Shs. 583 billion.

“These were directed at bidders who did not have financial capacity as well as those who lacked qualifications and this step has helped the government avoid implementing unsatisfactory contracts thus causing loss of public funds and delaying the development that is right for the citizens,” said Sando.

The launch of the module was accompanied by training on its use for lawyers of procuring institutions, IT specialists, procurement units, contractors, and bidders from the Lakes region.