In a continued effort to address challenges in public procurement, the Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA) is building the capacity of bidders by training them on the use of an electronic module for submitting and handling complaints and appeals within the National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST).
Opening a two-day training session held from April 29 to 30, 2025, in Mbeya for public procurement stakeholders and bidders from government institutions in the Southern Highlands Zone, PPAA Executive Secretary Mr. James Sando urged participants to gain a thorough understanding of the module to help the government realize better value for money.
“To align with the Public Procurement Act of 2023 and the Public Procurement Appeals Regulations of 2025, PPAA, in collaboration with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), developed the Complaint and Appeal Management Module within NeST,” said Mr. Sando.
He noted that the new module offers significant benefits for bidders, procuring entities, and the PPAA by streamlining the submission and processing of complaints and appeals related to public procurement processes.
“This module offers numerous advantages, including eliminating the need for bidders to physically visit procuring entities or PPAA offices to submit complaints or appeals. It also reduces time and costs associated with submission, while enhancing transparency in the resolution process,” Mr. Sando emphasized.
Mr. Sando also revealed that by April 2025, the PPAA had resolved 185 procurement-related cases. Of these, 36 contract awards were halted due to the winning bidders either lacking the financial capacity or failing to meet the technical requirements to implement the respective contracts.
These actions helped prevent the government from entering into poorly executed agreements, which could have led to financial losses and delays in service delivery to citizens.
Also speaking at the event, Ms. Emma Komba, Assistant Commissioner for Procurement Policy at the Ministry of Finance, urged participants to use the training as an opportunity to fully understand the digital process of submitting and managing procurement complaints and appeals.
She emphasized that the module would bring greater efficiency and accountability to the procurement system.
The training in Mbeya is part of a national series that has already been conducted in several zones: the Coastal Zone (including Dar es Salaam, Pwani, Tanga, and Morogoro), the Lake Zone (Mwanza, Simiyu, Geita, Shinyanga, Mara, and Kagera), and the Northern Zone (Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga, and Manyara).