Commission drills Malawi govt officers on competitive tendering and bidding

The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday oriented government officers responsible for procurement on issues of collusive tendering and bid rigging as reflected in the Competition and Fair Trading Act.

Speaking in an interview after the orientation that took place in Blantyre, Senior Economist (Mergers and Acquisitions for CFTC), Fexter Katungule, said the institution has not done a lot of sensitization towards public procurement officers on the criminal activities surrounding collusive tendering and bid rigging.

“You might agree with me that bid rigging and collusive tendering sees a lot of government money going down the drain, hence negatively affecting the development of the country.

“So, we would like to guard the national purse so that the money that is involved goes to the budgeted activities justifiably, hence this orientation,” he said.

He added that similar meetings are being held in other major districts of the country in order to reach out to all government officers responsible for the procurement of government goods and services so that there is a reformed procurement system.

Commenting on the orientation, Fredrick Bonyonga, who is the Procurement Officer for Thyolo District Hospital, said the orientation was an eye opener and had given him a better picture of the do’s and don’ts regarding tendering and biding.

He, however, called on CFTC to further popularize the Competition and Fair Trade Act, saying most public procurement officers were not conversant with the Act.

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