EDITORIAL: Procurement watchdog should stop politicking

Early, this year, the public procurement watchdog—Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), announced it was probing the controversial $117 million tender to buy biometric voters registration kits (BVRs).

PPRA said in a statement it has launched an investigation on the tender and six months later, we haven’t heard of the report on the matter and the agency is changing the story. It says it won’t proceed with the probe for the aggrieved parties filed an appeal in March.

 In March, PPRA launched an investigation into how the second-phase BVRs purchase was conducted. This came following reports the tendering was marred by irregularities.

The agency confirmed in July that it was probing the controversy surrounding the award of $117 million (Sh196.5 billion) to LithoTech Exports of South Africa to deliver BVRs for registering 23.9 million voters.

It is quite curious that the purported investigation was swept under the carpet—ostensibly because of an appeal filed by the aggrieved parties. We respect and recognise the good work PPRA has been doing as a regulator and watchdog in a sector which is, however, so clouded with irregularities.

 We also appreciate the role played by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Tanzania’s sole supervisor of elections. We also value the ambitious plan to have a biometric voter registration system ahead of the 2015 General Election. However, PPRA’s claims that it shelved the investigation because the aggrieved parties filed an appeal are not only laughable, they are also questionable.

We are being given a lame excuse, which shouldn’t come from such a respected institution like PPRA. The BVRs project is funded by taxpayers’ money and therefore, the public has every right to know how the tender was processed. But then, who will tell people the truth if the regulator chooses to keep quiet?