Government has disclosed that it is reviewing procurement laws amid widespread concerns that the current laws pose a serious setback to the country’s development.  

According to minister of transport and public works Jacob Hara, lack of appropriate procurement laws is, among others, negatively impacting the country`s construction sector.

Hara said: “I really think we have a problem, because most of the time we are not on the same page with our colleagues Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) that look at procurement on almost everything the government and you know that they like to look at the lowest evaluated bidder.

“Now this government has a policy to ensure that we do quality works, and you know quality works are not necessarily cheap.”

Hara, who was speaking in parliament, said to address the longstanding constraints, authorities have embarked on a review of all required laws to meet the current industry needs.

The minister added by casting a blame on previous administrations on various shoddy works that he said cost government taxpayers’ money.

“So, there has been a tendency I think from the previous regimes, that contractors would charge you really low to get the contract when they get the contract. They realise they can’t do great work, so they do short cuts and then they do shoddy work.

“Now we are very stringent on that one to make sure that the contractors do the right despite whatever they have quoted. And so, when they get these contracts, they realise that they cannot be able to do the contracts and they stop the works. And so, what do we do? We terminate the contract repackage it and tender it again,” said Hara.