The Next Age of Public Procurement Reforms in Tanzania: Looking for the Best Value for Money

Abstract

The public procurement reforms wave in developing countries which began in 1990s did not place value for money objective at its core. Moved by pressures of international trade liberalization and international anti-corruption agenda, Tanzania began the first major reform steps in 1992, and the major recent outcomes are the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2011 and its 2013 regulations (PPR 2013). The PPA 2011 and PPR 2013 together form the main framework of public procurement law in Tanzania. Modeled after the UCITRAL procurement model law 1994 with little customizations from the model law's 2011 revision, the Tanzania procurement system is mostly decentralized, based on a rigid traditional competitive tendering principle, centralizes most of the decision making authorities to committees, and establishes a multi-function central regulatory body. After more than a decade since the first reform-based legislation, new challenges still surround the public procurement system in the country as is the case for most of the developing economies. While the rigid procurement system has not eradicated corruption in the sector either, there is another equally big and harmful challenge associated with the current procurement system - which is failure of the government to achieve value for money in public sector projects and operations. With this challenge at a core, this paper appraises the Tanzania public procurement law and proposes taking next major reforms by redefining the public procurement main policy goal, objectives, principles and procedures in a way that enables the government to obtain the best value for money in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, along with enhancing system integrity.