By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, March 7, Mana: Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) said there is a need for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operators to be knowledgeable of public procurement requirements and processes for them to conduct business with the government, which is the biggest buyer of goods and services.

The remarks were made Friday in Mzuzu by the Director of Capacity Development and Reforms at PPDA, Timothy Kalembo, when the authority held an interface meeting with SMEs’ operators drawn from the northern region.

Kalembo said the authority has therefore initiated deliberate efforts to interact with the operators to have their capacity enhanced so that they meet all the required standards for one to participate in public procurement.

 “PPDA as a regulatory body has the mandate of ensuring that such enterprises participate in public procurement, hence this engagement meeting.

“It is up to us to ensure that they are knowledgeable on how to submit successful bids and how to request for clarifications during procurement proceedings,” said Kalembo.

Commenting on some of the challenges, which SMEs encounter in public procurement, Kalembo cited untimely payment for either delivered services or goods and that such delays affect the SMEs' operations.

He added that most of the regulatory bodies responsible for business registration are mostly in Lilongwe and don’t have offices in the region, hence business operators face problems to access the required services.

“The PPDA Act has a 60 percent reserve for local SMEs in public procurement not to indigenous black Malawians as were referred to in the 2017 Act, which is central to constitutional principles of non-discrimination,” he said.

He said the authority has further engaged other oversight bodies, such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry, to ensure that local business operators supply quality products.

“Government relies on SMEs to achieve Malawi 2063, hence it is government’s priority to ensure that SMEs partake in the national cake,” he added.

Managing Director of Swaswa Building and Marlee Agencies, Marlyn Munthali described the meeting as an eye opener to SMEs.