HARARE - Government tendering systems in the COMESA bloc will now be open to regional competitive bidding processes, making it possible for suppliers in the region to access the various procurement markets in the 19 member states.However, the process will only be open to those tenders that exceed the respective national threshold levels for goods, services and construction projects.
This exciting phase follows the adoption of the Regional Procurement Regulation (RPR) by the COMESA Council of Ministers meeting yesterday. According to a COMESA newsletter, the new instrument that is the regulations will now make it possible for suppliers to access various public procurement markets to be found in the 19 COMESA member states.
“This should further consolidate the Free Trade Area and the soon to be launched Customs Union by contributing to the COMESA intra- regional trade. Given that public procurement constitutes approximately 70 per cent of Government revenue and 15 per cent of Gross Domestic Products, the impact of public procurement to COMESA intra-regional trade is enormous,” reads the newsletter.
The regional procurement regulations compel member states to source procurement within the region first before procuring internationally.
Post published in: Economy