The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Authority (PPDA) has banned two suppliers PP Tires and Spares and Standard Solutions from participating in the public procurement and disposal processes.

According to a press release, PPDA found the two companies guilty of submitting fraudulent tax receipts. PP Tires is disbarred for a year, while Standard Solutions faces a three-year ban.

“The reason for deregistration is violation of Section 56 (2)(b) of the PPDA Act, 2017, due to submission of false tax clearance during supplier registration,” the statement said.

The decision restricts both companies, from October 20, 2024, to participation in public procurement during their respective exclusion periods.

However, the decision does not apply retroactively to previous commitments, PPDA stressed.

“The ministries, departments and agencies have been duly informed of this decision, as well as the list of companies concerned,” the press release further specifies.

PPDA cited its authority under Section 6(1)(g) and Section 56 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, 2017.

It allows it to “suspend, exclude or exclude any bidder, supplier, contractor, consultant or service provider who violates any provision of the law”.

Deregistered companies have the right to appeal the decision, which will remain in force until overturned by the High Court or until the debarment period expires.

Efforts to get a response from the delisted entities failed as calls to their phones went unanswered.

The delistings bring the total number of entities banned over the past two months to ten, with the PPDA also sanctioning eight companies in September.

Reacting to the development, procurement expert Anord Chirwa said he was shocked by the figures, calling them “very high”.

“This shows that the level of compliance is very low. This is not about ignorance of entities,” he noted.

The former Acting Director General of the PPDA pointed out that falsification of documents is widespread in procurement processes.

“Forgery of documents is very common. They could forge bank bonds. When you cross-check with the bank, you find out that the documents are fake.

“It is a good thing on the part of the PPDA to delist companies for such violations because these companies are risky,” he said in a telephone interview.