By Wezzie Gausi:
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) has ordered government ministries, departments and other procuring entities to submit evidence of funding for major procurement contracts that were signed between April and October 2026.
In a circular dated November 2, 2026, PPDA Director General George Mankhwala has given controlling officers and heads of procuring entities until November 20, 2026 to submit the required information.
The directive covers procurement contracts for which an Intention to Award Notice was published and which subsequently proceeded to contract signing between April 1 and October 31, 2026.
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Mankhwala says the exercise is being undertaken in accordance with Section 5(1) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act Number 7 of 2025.
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“The requested evidence should be in form of a certification as provided in regulation 36 of the Public Procurement Regulations of 2026,” the circular reads.
According to Mankhwala, the threshold for publishing an Intention to Award Notice is K500 million, regardless of the type of procurement involved.
The authority has further indicated that the information collected will be used to determine the level of compliance, among public institutions, with Section 25(2)(a) of the procurement law and Regulation 36 of the 2026 regulations.
“The authority intends to use this information to assess the compliance rate of the procuring and disposing entities,” Mankhwala says in the circular.
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Meanwhile, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira has lauded the initiative.
“This is a good move because public institutions should not be allowed to commit the government to contracts without first establishing whether resources are available,” he said.
