Why Zimbabwe’s e-procurement reform could redefine sustainable public finance

By Richard Ndebele

In a conference room at the Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo last week, procurement reform quietly crossed an important threshold.

What appeared to be a routine bidder training workshop on the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system was, in fact, a window into something much bigger: the redesign of Zimbabwe’s public expenditure architecture.

Public procurement accounts for approximately 20–25% of government expenditure and dominates sectors such as infrastructure and road construction. When a quarter of public spending is channelled through one system, reforming that system is not administrative housekeeping — it is fiscal reform.

For years, Zimbabwe’s procurement processes were characterised by delays, opacity and excessive paperwork. Manual workflows slowed delivery, fragmented oversight and created governance vulnerabilities. The introduction of the e-GP system marks a decisive shift from that fragmented model toward a standardised, end-to-end digital platform covering registration, tender publication, encrypted bid submission, evaluation, award and contract management.

Digitisation, however, is only the first layer of reform.

The deeper opportunity lies in how this platform can anchor sustainable public financial management (PFM) and embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles directly into the machinery of public expenditure.

Procurement as a Policy Instrument

Section 6(1)(j) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act mandates PRAZ to advise Government on how environmental, social and economic policies — including empowerment and domestic preferences — may be implemented through public procurement.

This provision is profound.

It legally positions procurement as a lever for national development strategy — not merely a transactional function.

Indeed, the reform trajectory aligns with National Development Strategy 2 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The concept of affirmative procurement — supporting youth, women, persons with disabilities, local contractors and liberation war veterans — reflects a deliberate shift from “value for money” toward “value to society”.

If fully operationalised, this shift redefines procurement as an ESG delivery mechanism.

Government becomes the largest ESG actor in the economy.

Standardisation, Inclusion and Fiscal Discipline

The e-GP system has formalised supplier registration and categorisation under clearly defined thresholds.

Micro enterprises, SMEs and larger firms are registered under differentiated structures, with updated annual registration fees prescribed under S.I. 9 of 2026. Micro enterprises may participate in tenders up to US$100,000, SMEs up to US$200,000, while larger entities face no value ceiling.

This tiered architecture promotes inclusion while preserving competitive integrity.

The system also strengthens financial discipline. Administration fees, contract administration fees and structured bid securities are clearly defined within the procurement cycle. Bid securities — capped at 2% of estimated contract value — are held in a Trust Account for accountability and transparency.

These mechanisms reduce frivolous bidding, mitigate fiscal risk exposure and enhance predictability.

In public finance terms, this is expenditure risk management.

Transparency by Design

The digital platform enforces automated deadlines, encrypted submissions, structured evaluation criteria and standstill periods before contract award. Audit trails are embedded into the system architecture.

Transparency is no longer dependent on discretion. It is coded into the workflow.

For investors and development partners increasingly concerned with governance standards, this matters. Procurement reform directly influences perceptions of fiscal credibility.

The ability to demonstrate traceable, rules-based procurement strengthens Zimbabwe’s institutional profile.

The ESG Frontier

Yet the most strategic opportunity remains ahead.

The legal mandate exists. The digital infrastructure exists. The policy alignment exists.

What must now follow is systematic integration of ESG metrics into procurement evaluation frameworks.

Imagine tender documents that:

• Require measurable environmental compliance standards
• Incorporate climate resilience criteria in infrastructure projects
• Reward local value chain participation and inclusive subcontracting
• Score bidders on governance transparency and ownership disclosure

Because procurement represents up to a quarter of public expenditure, embedding ESG criteria within it would instantly mainstream sustainability across the economy.

Public finance would become a driver of green industrialisation, social inclusion and governance reform.

That is the essence of sustainable PFM.

From Digitisation to Data Intelligence

The e-GP system also lays the foundation for procurement analytics.

Structured digital data allows government to monitor supplier concentration, detect pricing anomalies and assess sectoral spending patterns in real time. Over time, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence could strengthen anomaly detection and compliance monitoring.

Data becomes a fiscal intelligence asset.

In a constrained fiscal environment, better procurement intelligence translates into better budget outcomes.

A Defining Moment

Zimbabwe’s procurement reform is often described as digitisation. It is more than that.

It is the gradual construction of a transparent, standardised and policy-aligned public expenditure ecosystem.

If the next phase embeds ESG criteria, strengthens interoperability with financial management systems and enhances data-driven oversight, the e-GP platform could become the backbone of sustainable public financial management in Zimbabwe.

The quiet reform discussed in Bulawayo last week may, in time, define how effectively Zimbabwe aligns public spending with development strategy, climate commitments and governance reform.

The tender document is no longer just a call for bids.

It is a statement of national priorities.

Richard Ndebele is Manager: Technical, Research and Quality Assurance at the Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGI Zimbabwe), and serves as Country Champion for the PAFA Sustainability Centre of Excellence. He writes on governance, sustainability and public financial management, with a focus on strengthening decision-making and institutional performance in African economies. He can be contacted on rndebele@cgizim.org