• Speech delivered  by ZCCM IH Mabvuto Chipata

A significant percentage of our Company budget expenditure goes through the procurement unit that contracts suppliers of various goods and services.

These goods and services are particularly administrative and investment-related, from hiring machinery for projects, undertaking of environmental project briefs, exploration services, consultancy services, supply of branding collaterals to supply of cleaning services among others.

We are currently redefining our business strategy, from being passive holders of minority stakes in the mines, to being active operators in mining projects in the country.

As such, the effective and efficient management of both the revenue and the cost side of the business is key with this renewed strategic focus.

Cost management for instance in operations and acquiring of various equipment and other services is necessary for us to achieve the set revenue targets.

It is with this background that the issue of procurement becomes paramount in managing the cost side of the business.  

I therefore have no doubt that the introduction of an electronic procurement system within our procurement unit will lead to increased efficiencies and transparency that will result in:

• Reduced costs;
• Increased productivity;
• Smooth interface between the company and the suppliers;
• Controlled monitoring of contracts;
• Increased transaction speed; and,
• Reduced errors.

We want to leverage on such benefits of the e-procurement system to deliver on projects efficiently and drive company growth. 

As such, this training workshop has been prompted by the need for ZCCM-IH to migrate to this Electronic-Government Procurement (E-GP) system, which is timely for us to move and adapt to the changing business environment.

We are working towards the integration and migration of our internal systems to digital platforms, and this system is one of the tools to help us deliver on projects effectively.  

I would like to thank the ZPPA team, through the Director General Mr Christopher Chichoni for responding favorably to come and facilitate this training for us. 

I urge all the ZCCM-IH staff being trained to embrace this change as it will add value to the ZCCM-IH procurement cycle.

I would like to invite the ZPPA Director General Mr Chichoni, to give his remarks and officially open this training workshop.

Thank you and God bless!

• ZPPA Director General’s speech at the public procurement training workshop

It is with great pleasure and honour that i take this opportunity to welcome you all to this very important workshop. Thank you for having taken time off your busy schedules to attend this training workshop on electronic government procurement usage.

As you may be aware, the Zambia Public Procurement Authority is a statutory body mandated to provide regulatory and oversight function over procuring entities in order to promote integrity, fairness and public confidence in public procurement. Allow me to state that, the authority has continued to implement notable reforms in the quest to improve public procurement processes and the implementation of the electronic government procurement (e-gp) system is one such example. The implementation of the e-gp marks a new era in public procurement reforms and is in line with government’s overall policy to digitize its operations. Allow me to mention that the e-gp system has a number of benefits not only to the government but to all procuring entities involved in the procurement process and to the general citizenry. The system has simplified public procurement and drastically reduced the challenges faced in the manual process.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Once fully implemented, it is envisaged that vices like corruption, collusion and bid rigging will be reduced.this is because the procurement of goods, works and services will be done in a transparent manner. The e-gp system will also enhance efficiency by simplifying public procurement processes.

The aim of this training is to enhance your knowledge and understanding of public procurement processes especially in the usage of the electronic government procurement system (e-gp). As you will notice from the programme, this workshop will focus on electronic procurement processes such as online annual procurement planning, e-tendering and online tender advertising.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Public procurement accounts for 15 percent (15%) of zambia’s gross domestic product (gdp). This is a big portion of zambia’s gdp which if handled properly can contribute positive results to the national economy and development agenda. Public procurement therefore, is a vital component in the development process of zambia. The implementation of the e-gp system means that all procurement transactions can be carried out electronically leaving a clear audit trail of all activities. This training for zccm-ih, is a step in the right direction and it is our desire as zppa for all procuring entities to migrate to   e- procurement.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Given the ever-changing business trends world over, zambia has not been left behind and positive strides have been made in implementing strategies that will continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public procurement. Therefore, improvements should always be embraced even at the expense of the seemingly comfortable status quo. The public procurement system in zambia is no exception to the need for continuous improvement hence the introduction of the e-gp system.

As i conclude, allow me to welcome all of you once again to this very important workshop and i want to assure you that, as the public procurement regulator we will endeavour to do everything within our madate and ensure that the playing field in public procurement is favorable for all stakeholders. I  wish to inform you that in the public procurement bill, the usage of the egp system will be mandatory, as zppa we are happy that you have made the decision of transforming from manual procurement to digital and should you have challenges at any stage of using the system, our e-gp technical team is readily available to work with you.  Please do not hesitate to contact my staff beyond this workshop for any e-gp related support you may require. I also wish to inform you that the authority has embarked on a rigorous training program targeted at suppliers to increase the number of suppliers trained in online bid submission.

Ladies and gentlemen,

At the end of this workshop we will provide each participant with a certifcate of attendance. With these remarks, i declare this workshop officially open

I thank you for your attention and ensure that you take care of yourselves by observing social distance, sanitizing and masking up always.

Stay safe and god bless you all

There are many challenges facing the mining industry and have credible procurement systems is one of them. According to Mining Procurement & Supply- East Coast of Australia, their 2013 report indicated that some of the challenges around mining procurement included:

• There are numerous pressures related to supporting the business to deliver cost
• efficiencies, due to the external market environment. Delivery to business plan is a
• key focus for all functional support areas due to the market, and the key enabler will
• be cost optimisation.
• Suppliers might not be around in 6 months, considering that they are facing a
• decrease in demand and prices.
• Timelines for major deliverables and projects might not be met if your supplier is
• downsizing or seeing decreased profit.
• It’s not guaranteed previous commitments will be met.
• Recent or current tendering processes might not be adequate enough to guarantee
• supply chain security.
• Building win-win relationships is a lot harder due to economic pressures.

“A significant percentage of our Company budget expenditure goes through the procurement unit that contracts suppliers of various goods and services”,  said the ZCCM IH CEO Mabvuto Chipata recently at a procurement workshop at Protea Chisamba where a joint collaboration with ZPPA was conducted.

“These goods and services are particularly administrative and investment related, from hiring machinery for projects, undertaking of environmental project briefs, exploration services, consultancy services, supply of branding collaterals to supply of cleaning services among others.”

Procurement is becoming a strategic asset for mining companies. ZCCM IH understands this and hence why it was important to conduct the workshop so that it can beef up its internal knowledge systems. Workshops such as this one allow for staff to identify strategic issues around procurement in mining.

“As such, the effective and efficient management of both the revenue and the cost side of the business is key with this renewed strategic focus. Cost management for instance in operations and acquiring of various equipment and other services is necessary for us to achieve the set revenue targets”.

This is why the CEO has all the confidence that workshops such as this will contribute to creating a sustainable business environment for his investment group. “I therefore have no doubt that the introduction of an electronic procurement system within our procurement unit will lead to increased efficiencies and transparency”.