Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) has noted the position of the Ministry of Agriculture to cancel the fertilizer procurement tender, days before the government plans to commence the transportation of fertilizer countrywide.
While we applaud the due diligence exercised by the Zambia Public Procurement Agency in ensuring all regulations in the awarding of fertilizer tenders were adhered to, it is worth taking caution and scrutinizing the potential pitfalls of this directive.
We are particularly concerned about the Ministry’s apparent determination to find an alternative of getting the distribution started within the course of next week. Although this would suggest a high degree of efficiency by the Ministry, we would like to caution against the disregard of established procurement guidelines in finding this alternative.
We therefore challenge the Ministry to disclose to the nation the full details of how it will make this distribution possible to commence next week. The precedence we have seen is that established procedures often get put aside when dealing with emergency situations, and this distribution of fertilizer appears to have become an emergency in the wake of the cancellation of the procurement tender. The Ministry should therefore guard against this by ensuring adherence to established procedures, in order to insulate this process against any risk of corruption taking place.
TI-Z therefore urges the Ministry of Agriculture to employ an open and transparent process in sourcing contractors and distributors of fertilizer, as this will uphold public trust in the whole process. The fertilizer distribution is an important exercise that will have an impact on the farming season and ultimately on national food security, and the need to insulate it from any potential corruption cannot be overemphasized.
Sampa J. Kalungu (Mr.)
CHAPTER PRESIDENT
