17 Mar 2019

The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board was recently in Tsabong as part of the organisation’s tour to extend services closer to Batswana.

The aim of the tour is to teach the public on services offered by PPADB.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Godira Mmeso from the PPADB office in Gaborone said government was moving towards digitalisation and that it was their duty to teach Batswana how best to access services offered by the board.

He said they taught online application for tendering codes through the Integrated Procurement Management System (IPMS) which used online access to apply for codes. “All one needs is a computer/smartphone and Internet to access,” he said.

Mr Mmeso said the system enabled all Batswana to access and apply from the comfort of their homes rather than travelling long distances to get help.

He added that Batswana should familiarise themselves with the online procurement processes if they wished to continue doing business with government.

“Online services reduce paperwork, they reduce time taken to process as well as reduce the risk of corruption by eliminating fake documentation. The IPMS allows access to all companies registered making it easy for companies to do business together,” Mr Mmeso reiterated

Mr Daniel Molefe, from the district tendering committee, said government was on the right track by offering online services. He stressed that through IPMS they were able to enforce fairness surrounding the tendering processes as companies who transacted in bad faith were easily identifiable and remedy easily applied.

 He said the PPADB worked with organs such as BURS and the Registrar of Companies to reduce incidents of corruption and ensure compliance. Government, he said, was busy rolling out the e-bidding system, a hustle free service that reduced paperwork.He said the transparency of the system should inspire confidence in Batswana to register companies and tender in a leveled playing field.

He said effective April PPADB would only process documentation from customers who payed upfront.ENDS