PRICE FIXING IN E10BN GOVT TENDERS TO BE STOPPED

MBABANE – It is end of the road for bid rigging, price fixing, kickbacks and inflation of prices in the E10 billion worth of tenders issued in violation of the Public Procurement Act of 2011.

The Swaziland Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (SPPRA) and Swaziland Competition Commission (SCC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote efficiency and effectiveness in trade facilitation, competitive behaviour among businesses or companies involved in public procurement, public procurement compliance and enforcement.

“The MoU will serve to minimise and deter crimes such as, bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation, anti-competitive trade practises, unfair trading, kick-backs, inflation of prices and deviation from established procurement procedures, laws and regulations within the country,” reads the MoU in part.

The MoU comes in the wake of a shocking revelation by the SPPRA on how public funds of up to E10 billion gets used yearly by parastatals and central government to procure goods and services without adhering to the Public Procurement Act of 2011, especially section 45 which informs processes on how a tender should be issued and granted.

Signing

Speaking during the official signing ceremony of the MoU held at the SPPRA boardroom on Wednesday, SPPRA Board Chairperson Harry Nxumalo explained that their first priority would be to ensure that there is a fair trading ground especially in transactions involving government particularly because government remains the key buyer in the economy.
“This will be achieved by ensuring that competitive behaviour is promoted at all times.

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