Zimpapers Logo

Shared procurement among procuring entities are established in terms of Section 19 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act [Chapter 22:23]. Notwithstanding Section 14 (“Responsibility for procurement”), procuring entities may, and if directed by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), conduct their procurement by way of shared procurement arrangements which may include arrangements for procuring all their requirements through a Procurement Management Unit established by one of the procuring entities.

Responsibilities of parties and adherence to PPDPA Act

The shared arrangement is recommended for procuring particular categories of goods, construction works or services through one of the procuring entities with expertise in that type of procurement. More so, this arrangement is also recommended for procuring goods, construction works or services for common use through one or more designated procuring entities.

A procuring entity that conducts procurement on behalf of other entities under a shared procurement arrangement shall be primarily responsible for ensuring that the procurement is conducted in accordance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act.

Establishment of Framework Agreements under shared procurement arrangement

Where the Authority (PRAZ) considers, on the basis of its review of the annual procurement plans submitted to it by procuring entities in terms of Section 22, that it is proper to direct any group of two or more procuring entities to conduct their procurement by way of shared procurement arrangements and the shared procurement is of such a nature as to make the use of a framework agreement expedient, desirable or necessary in order to achieve economies of scale.

The Authority shall negotiate the framework agreement on behalf of the procuring entities concerned.

Section 33 of the PPDPA Act provides for the pre-conditions that must exist before a procuring entity may use the direct procurement method. Consequently, the method may be used where a procuring entity that is a party to a shared procurement arrangement governed by a framework agreement referred to in Subsection (3) must obtain its procurement requirements in accordance with that agreement unless it satisfies the Authority in writing that it is able to obtain such requirements at a better price or on better contract terms by means of a separate procurement.

Nothing in this Section inhibits a procuring entity from negotiating a framework agreement on its own for procurement requirements that are not subject to shared procurement arrangements or a group of Procuring Entities which are not governed by a framework agreement referred to in Subsection (3) from negotiating a suitable framework agreement for their common procurement requirements with a view to achieving economies of scale.

Justification for use of the shared procurement method

Section (6) of the PPDPA regulations states that, where procurement is conducted by way of shared procurement in accordance with Section 19 of the Act, the Accounting Officers of the procuring entities involved shall, in writing, agree on the following;

The functions to be shared; and

The mechanisms for implementation of the procurement; and

The procedure for approving the procurement; and

The procedures for reporting and monitoring; and

The limitations or exceptions to the procurement contract, if any; and

The costs, if any, to be paid by each of the Procuring Entities.

Where the Authority has directed that Procuring Entities conduct their procurement by way of shared procurement or the Procuring Entities engaging in shared procurement have been unable to agree on the matters referred to in Subsection (1) the terms of the agreement referred to in Subsection (1) shall be decided by the Authority.

In any shared procurement under Section 19 of the Act, the Accounting Officer of each of the procuring entities that benefit from the services of the lead procuring entity shall remain accountable for decisions relating to contracts made under a framework agreement entered into by the lead procuring entity and complying with all provisions of the Act which are not required to be complied with only by the lead procuring entity.

Planning for shared procurement

When planning for a shared procurement, the lead procuring entity shall either compile lists of designated or common use items identified by the participating procuring entities or, where the shared procurement has been directed by the Authority, utilise such lists compiled by the Authority and require each participating procuring entity, not less than three months before the end of the fiscal year preceding the year in which the intended procurement will take place, to provide the information needed for the lead procuring entity to identify the aggregated requirements for the procurement; and cause the participating procuring entities to indicate the procurement requirements to be procured through the shared procurement, which requirements shall be categorised in categories established by the lead procuring entity; and finalise the procurement plan and distribute it to the participating procuring entities not later than one month before the deadline for the submission of procurement plans to the Authority in terms of Section 23 of the Act.

Where appropriate, the lead procuring entity shall aggregate the procurement requirements to be obtained through shared procurement, making full use of framework agreements, in order to achieve economies of scale, and in deciding where aggregation is appropriate the lead procuring entity shall consider all relevant factors, including which items are of a similar nature and likely to attract the same potential bidders and when items will be ready for bidding and when delivery, implementation or completion is required and the optimum size and type of contract to attract the greatest and most responsive competition, taking into account the market for the items required and which items will be subject to the same bidding requirements and terms of contract and potential savings in time or transaction costs and facilitating contract administration by the procuring entity and any other special factors related to the procurement requirements concerned.