Treasury agrees to improve procurement staff pay level

In his address to open the 4th edition of the procurement and supply professionals’ annual general conference, he said that when the proposal lands on his desk he “will endorse it on the spot.”

He explained the position from explanation by the chairman of the PSPTB board of directors, Jacob Kibona that despite playing a vital role in helping to improve the country’s procurement and supply chain management, the said experts are not paid the deserved salaries.

In response, the minister set out government intention to give the procurement and supply sector priority status as it touches upwards of 70 percent of the country’s annual budget

He said he will work to assure the professionals start receiving encouraging payments and be treated with hand gloves by their respective institutions, chiefly in the public sector.

He asserted that in the law and accountant sectors “those who hold high certificates are respected and paid accordingly,” so it should be the same situation for procurement and supply sector professionals.

Coordinated by PSPTB, the event at the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC) is attended by procurement and supply practitioners of all sorts.

They include tender board members, accounting officers, auditors, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, pharmacists, academicians, consultants, researchers, policy makers, business executives, entrepreneurs, suppliers, contractors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

It was convened under the theme "digital transformation for improving procurement and supply chain management towards sustainable development," shouldered by the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC) and a range of public and private firms.

They were listed as including Dynatech Solutions, Shades of Green Safaris, the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL), Bravado Solutions, Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), Bisech Tour Co., Nekira Co. Ltd, Haier (T), e- Government Authority (e-GA), Tanzania Standard Newspapers (TSN), Soft Tech Consultants and UTT AMIS, a stock exchange fund holder.

Others are the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA), National Insurance Corporation (NIC), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Universal Communications Services Access Fund (UCSAF), the Fair Competition Commission (FCC), the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the National Housing Corporation (NHC) as well as the Workers Compensation Fund (WCF).