YOUNG contractors in the country are demanding a share of the cake when it comes to government tenders.
Specifically, they want the government to reserve about 25% of its tenders for the youths.
Said Youth Empowerment deputy minister Kuda Mupamhanga at a meeting between himself and the Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA): “Youth inclusion in procurement processes is not just an initiative, it is a necessity for economic transformation.
“The 25% youth participation quota in tendering through the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe will enable young contractors to participate in large-scale government projects, ultimately contributing to the growth of our economy.”
Mupamhanga is right, the youth are the country’s future.
And the youth have every right to demand their involvement in government transactions.
Added Mupamhanga: “Government has invested heavily in initiatives to provide access to skills, vocational training and now, through our collaboration with ZBCA, we will ensure that our young people have a seat at the table in the public procurement space.”
Said ZBCA president Tinashe Manzungu: “For too long, young people have struggled to access opportunities in government projects due to lack of resources and experience.
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“This proposed youth quota is a game-changer. It will provide young contractors the chance to participate in lucrative projects and, most importantly, gain the experience that will be crucial for their growth as entrepreneurs in the future.”
Unfortunately, those who control the levers of power have proxies whose briefcase companies have privileged access to every tender on the market.
Only a few fortunate ones will be picked during the tendering process to sanitise what has largely become a corrupt enterprise.
The proxies will get the lion's share of the tenders, inflate prices, and pile the bills on the already overburdened taxpayers.
Remember what happened during the peak of the COVID-19 era, when a box of face masks was priced at around US$30 in government transactions, compared to only US$2 on the market.
That is the level of profiteering endemic in government tendering.
Who is going to hold the perpetrators accountable?
Indeed, the youths deserve a chance to partake in government projects, unfortunately powerful politicians murk the waters.
A tender to supply 10 Toyota Hilux GD-6 GR Sport 2024 models will prove difficult to access for a novice in the procurement sector.
Proxies will inflate prices by even more than US$20 000 per single vehicle and still get the tenders.
As history has shown, they often fail to deliver but pocket the money, as they enjoy the protection of backers.
The Auditor-General has over the years complained about government contractors failing to fulfil their end of the bargain to no avail.
Then there is also the challenge of cartels.
Go to any auction house and see if you can buy an accident-damaged Toyota Hilux D4D.
Cartels bid for the vehicles such that their prices shoot through the roof so that no one buys them, except themselves, on their own terms.
The same cartels exists in the tendering processes.
