Are we Ready to Embark on E-procurement

Regarding the number of users visiting the PPRA website, I think little have been done to get the public attention on what have been made available on the website. On the other side procurement professional are addicted to the analogue world (my opinion) and very few embrace the e-procurement tool, internet being one of them. Many PEs do not have a reason to browse the web and practitioners are way behind the ICT pace... Time has come and public should be made aware that tenders' adverts are now done online.
Little by little we'll get there...
However Kudos to PPRA for your handsome efforts to integrate e-world into your way of life, comparing your age of existence and what you have achieved you deserve a big clap.
Simba HD

As A Country we are ready to embark on e-procurement practices. Its should be noted first that to embark on e-procurement does not mean to practice all the e-procurement tools. Opting for few e-procurement tools that we can start with and then over time establishing the possibility of full adoption of e-procurement is required. For example we can start with e-advertising while we put together means to achieve e-tendering, e-contracting, etc...

Since the major procurement entities are situated in Dar es Salaam, TANROADS, MSD, Ministries, TPDF, and so forth and Dar es Salaam is currently experiencing a major swing to e-business and internet application then it is easy to say we are ready to embark on e-procurement. Even the few entities that are not in Dar es Salaam, still they are located in potential areas, for example TAMISEMI which is in DODOMA. The current installation of the optic cable country wide and with almost all regions connected to national grid then nothing is to stop Tanzania from embarking on e-procurement
With the 2010 procurement ACT bill is on process and National procurement policy is on the pipeline then it is my belief that we can start the journey and the improvement will meet us en route.
I am not saying we should leave behind those few districts that are not connected to the national grid or fiber optic cable and those procurement entities that are not in Dar es Salaam where ICT is highly in use, NO, my point is we should take the higher chances than the little with minor effect.

T curb the increasing public funds embezzlement, grand corruption, lack of accountability and transparency we need a procurement system that will foster clean procurement system with efficiency and value for money, that is we need e-procurement in practice starting now

"Take the first step in faith, you do not have to see the whole stair case, just take the first step" Dr Martin Luther King, 1929-1969
I submit and stand to be corrected.
Simba

What about Solar power? will this help to curb the problem of energy in rural areas?

Mh! though I am skeptical a bit because efficient E-government need intensive investment and attitude change.


Slowly we can try and finally we can arrive.


Regards,


Sebastian.

dmlangwa,
I appreciate your comments on this topic.But it seemed that you concurred with me though you did agree with me for what I said weh ave to embark on power kwanza'' then others will follow in aspect of e-procurement.Yourself , you added value for your point of having mobile phone, laptops and ultimately Generators to support the e-procurement.

To remind you is that, when I said power kwanza, I meant any alternative to have a power stability to support the e-procurement. And remeber that one flaws in ICT development is insufficient of power. Another issue is that isthe Government ready to set aside the fund to acquire those Generators/AVR's for their PE's IN THE CAPACITY OF MEGAWATTS required so that to support for what you gave your comments?. I know sure that, using e-procurement is very vital in this era, yet the problem comes when the power is unstable you cant do anything. I think you agree with me when you considers all PE's within Kigoma region, Rukwa region, Kusini Corridos, and other regions encoutering the electricity power, and if it so, why POWER FROM TANESCO ITSLEF not sufficient instead they face so called mgao wa umeme?, cant you imaging all PE's can able to facilitate having their own generators and alike to serve the operations of e-procurement?.

Lastly, my self am ready to embark on e-procurement, but let's get power kwanza and then to establish e-procurement allover we want.

dmlangwa

Since I am the one who posted the topic I am not ready to jump in and give my comments. But the point you raise are interesting and we are happy that you are part of the forum.

What would be your comments in as far current e-procurement initiatives like posting tender adverts, tender awards, procurement documents etc in PPRA Website. Amazingly, I am told despite that useful information being posted, the website gets only a handful of hits per day?

What would also be your views with regard to PMIS that has been designed to allow PEs share information with PPRA?

GadielCM
First of all I can say, we are ready to embark on E-Procurement as a country. E- Procurement improves procurement activities. Therefore it should be encouraged and promoted. By looking at the benefits brought about it is evident that e-procurement does not only make life convinient but more importantly makes business profitable by cutting down costs and saving time. Proper e-procurement project planning is required taking into account the identified critical success factors before embarking on the initiative. Equally important is the realization of barriers to e-procurement. It is important to know before, the challenges one may reasonably expect to encounter and design countermeasures to diffuse them.

I don't agree with GadielCM that, we need first to stabilize power then embark on e-procurement, to me I see power is nothing to do here, with todays technology of laptops, mobile phones and utility power (generators) this is no longer a critical problem in ICT infrastructure. We all know that, all ISPs have back up power, all banks where you can make electronics transfer have back up power, therefore this cannot be a big barrier in embarking on e-procurement.

Therefore, Procurement professionals need to put in place a mechanism for promoting and regulating e-procurement in the country; The government being the biggest stakeholder should take the lead in introducing and practicing e-procurement, and removing all barriers to e-procuremnt, Submitted.

GadielCM
I agree with some of the issues that you raise and this is exactly why I put this topic for discussion. Before I come back with my views I think it is just appropriate to let others contribute on this topic.

RSM,
We are ready to embark on E-procurement but the system itself not support and allow the overall system to embark on, like what we want to use the system of procurement of common use items by GPSA while dont consider the geographyical and country allocation infrastructure. Why am saying this?

First, when you preach e-procurement, e-commerce, e-business you are talking about the consumer to consumer business (C2C), Customer to Business (C2B) and Business to Business (B2B). To elaborate this, its need another ample time in this forum. All these subject matter based on electronic business concept which need the good support in a large extent of its operations.

However, we know sure that, ICT need stable infrastructure, like reliable power, while we know sure that our power country wise is unstable, so how can you preach e-procurement, e-commerce, e-business in the system which its power to generate and support the preached system is unrealible?. How can you preach the system while is based in few regions leaving the majority in unreliable infrastructure to support for what we preach to have e-procurement?. Mean while we are thinking of e-procurement, is when other districts, regions dont have megawatts and reliable electricity to support ICT, so how can we embark on e-procurement even if we as stakeholders we are ready to adopt the system?, how can we embark on e-procurement if the realibility of electricity is not more than 6 hours on working days, in which we can use e-procuremnt due to so called ''Mgao wa Umeme'' to support the system even if we as procurement practioners are ready to adopt the system?.

My view is that, in order to enhence the good practise and adopt e-procurement and alike, we as Tanzanian, let us seek the Political will and make realibility of electricity and other infrastructure to support e-procurement kwanza and others will follow, or simply we can say let us embark on ''Realibe Power Kwanza''. and other will follow, I submit!

There is an established evidence that the use of e-procurement i.e. submission of bids and evaluation on line increases efficiency and reduces favouratism and corruption through reduction of human interface.

As a country are we ready to embark on e- procurement???