LUSAKA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A government body responsible for public procurement in Zambia launched a standard bidding policy to help reduce bureaucracy and tender processing time, the Times of Zambia reported on Wednesday.
The cumbersome tendering process for public services and goods in Zambia has resulted in increased corruption as people prefer to offer kick-backs to avoid the long process.
Speaking during the launch of the standard bidding policy by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA), Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda said the policy will help in achieving optimum degree of order in the procurement process as well as reduce bureaucracy and tender processing time.
"It follows that an inefficient and bad procurement system can be a major impediment to growth and development especially that the acquisition of works, goods and services by the public sector have to go through such a system," he was quoted as saying by the paper.
According to him, it was important that a modern public sector was built on a sound procurement system that was transparent, efficient and corrupt-zero rated, adding that procurement reforms have become "an immediate necessity." 
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