By Sharon Atieno
Though Tanzania amended its procurement law in 2016 to provide for the preservation of public procurement contracts for special groups, including women, youth, older people, and persons with disabilities, implementation remained a challenge, with women being left behind.
However, efforts by the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW)—East Africa project, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), are changing the tide.
They started by conducting research into the barriers to implementing the laws and policies. Using the findings, AFIC embarked on vigorous advocacy efforts that attracted the strong interest and attention of policy actors in Tanzania.
They targeted politicians, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) officials, and the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women, and Special Groups.
They all committed to enhancing the policy’s implementation, building the capacity of special groups, and pushing for amendments where necessary.
AFIC also conducted several activities to promote the participation of women-owned businesses in public procurement.
They engaged the PPRA to strengthen awareness, capacity building, and enforcement of the reservation scheme law. Awareness of the reservation scheme was raised within regions of the country.
For instance, special groups were engaged, especially women entrepreneurs, public officials, and political leaders in the Bukoba region of Tanzania.
Additionally, the Center promoted access to information for women entrepreneurs through training on the National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST).
Such engagement and capacity-building efforts by AFIC resulted in a stronger collaboration among PPRA, the National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC), and women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to boost women’s access to procurement opportunities under the affirmative action arrangement.
A memorandum of understanding to empower special groups in public procurement further strengthened PPRA’s and NEEC’s collaboration. They agreed to jointly solicit funds to support awareness and capacity-building campaigns on the reservation scheme and use of NeST.
According to an AFIC technical report, by 1 June 2024, about 141 women had registered on NeST, yet previously, there had been none. Of these, 127 (95%) women businesses completed the registration, while 14 (5%) still finalized registration on the system.
