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Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Urban local authorities have urged Government to deal with bureaucracy in the State tendering process, saying it is compromising service delivery.

Councils are required to first inform the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing of their intentions to flight a tender and if the ministry approves, the State Procurement Board is then involved in approving companies who have made bids.

Speaking at a Water Summit organised by Combined Harare Residents Trust and Act Alliance in Harare yesterday, Masvingo’s Mayor, Councillor Hubert Fidze, bemoaned the processes involved in the procurement system.

“We have been struggling to acquire the vehicles that we requested more than eight months ago owing to the bureaucracy involved in the procurement process,” he said.

“We made our submissions to the ministry, but up to now we are still to get permission and the supplier has since changed the prices thrice, owing to shortage of foreign currency.

“It is affecting service delivery because some of the vehicles were supposed to be used by reaction teams to attend to water-related problems like pipe bursts.”

Harare City Council environmental management committee chairperson Cllr Herbert Gomba said the State Procurement Act and the Joint Ventures Act were stifling development.

“If, for example, we are to engage the Chinese, we will be required to seek certain approvals from the parent ministry, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the State Procurement Board,” he said.

“When it is approved to procure materials or equipment, you have to follow some procedures. Unfortunately, when we are following the processes, some will look at it as if council is delaying procuring items needed for service delivery.”

Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe chairperson Cllr Bernard Manyenyeni said in an interview that solutions were best served with little bureaucracy.

“I need to study the Joint Ventures Act and the State Procurement Act more, but in short, councils which are desperate for solutions are best served by less bureaucracy and private sector type of decision making and pace of doing business,” he said.