June 8,
2021 4043 4043 
Further to the Call for Nominations, Notice is hereby given to all eligible Members of the Institute that are interested to stand on any Council positions of the following
Publication of Elections Guidelines and Procedures
Click here to access the 2021 Elections Guidelines and Procedures have been approved by Council for use in the 2021 Elections. Below are key items extracted:
Eligibility to Stand
· Only fully paid up Fellows (FZIPS) and Members (MZIPS) are allowed to stand for Council positions. The requirement for ONLY FELLOWS to stand as President will be tabled at the AGM
· Whereas, Section 18(1) of ZIPS Act No. 15 of 2003 states inter alia that a member to pay the annual subscription fee on or before the fourteenth day of January, Council approved this to be waivered for both members wishing to stand and those wishing to vote.
· Those wishing to stand and have not yet must ensure they are paid by 14 June
Nomination Form and Submission Dates
· Click here to access the nomination form and carefully read the document before completing and submitting
· Submission has been extended from Friday 11 June to Monday 14 June at 17:00 hours
Voter's Eligibility:
· ONLY fully paid up members in the below member categories will be eligible to vote in this year's council elections as individuals and/or as proxies,
Honorary Fellow (Hon. FZIPS)
Fellow (FZIPS)
Member (MZIPS)
Associate (AZIPS)
· Therefore as per the waiver approved, all none fully paid up members who wish to vote have up to on or before 17:00 hours on Tuesday 22nd June 2021 to pay their annual subscription fee.
· As per Section 19 (2) of the Act Affiliates and Students may receive notices of the AGM but cannot vote.
Voter's Register:
A voter's register as per the eligibility criteria be available for inspection from 9th June 2021 at the ZIPS Secretariat and will be published on both the ZIPS Website and all social media platforms.
Key Dates
14th June - Closing for submissions of nominations
17th June - Publication of names of successful candidates
17th June - Opening of campaigns
1st July - Closing of campaigns
2nd July – Elections
Issued by:
The Elections Committee
7th June 2021
September 11,
2020 5828 5828
PRESIDENT LUNGU COUNSELS PROCUREMENT PRACTITIONERS
Lusaka, (Wednesday, 2nd September,2020) ---- His Excellency, Dr Edgar Chagwa
Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia has appealed to public procurement practitioners to ensure that Government gets value for money on the goods and services procured.
The President notes that Government and other spending agencies procure goods and services in large quantities hence the need for those responsible for procurement to exercise professionalism and responsibility when expending public funds.
President Lungu said this when he met members of the executive of the Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply (ZIPS) during a courtesy call on him at State House on Wednesday.
"The nation is at a critical moment faced with inadequate funding in the midst of myriad competing needs hence the need for prudent public procurement in order for Government to attain the 7th national development plan and other development targets. There is need for both public and private procurement practitioners to adhere to prudent procurement practice, " said the President.
The President assured that Government is committed to ensuring that challenges in procurement are dealt with accordingly.
And ZIPS President Chibwe Mwelwa acknowledged the important role public and private procurement plays in national development.
"In developing countries public procurement contributes immensely to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Retailing and wholesaling contributes about 30% to GDP while in a manufacturing plant and the mining sector, the production costs are controlled by the procurement function, "said Mr Mwelwa.
The ZIPS president recalled that Government had announced wide ranging austerity measures with His Excellency the President emphasising on adherence to the measures.
Mr Mwelwa said the implementation and success of the Austerity measures will depend heavily on the procurement process. "Its failure or success depends on the procurement function; as they buy goods and services for Government to function," he said.
Further, Mr Mwelwa said the call by His Excellency the President on the "Value for money" and "having more for less" was directed to the procurement and stores professionals in the nation.
"The attainment of this great aspiration will not fully be realised without the fervent mentioning of the procurement process," he said.
He called for serious checking of procurement activities in all private manufacturing plants including, the mining companies to avert the possible loss of taxes by Government.
Mr Mwelwa proposed to the President to appoint a Permanent Secretary to be In Charge of Procurement as this will anchor the procurement function in Government and will ensure that the public and private sectors add value, and the nation gets value for money.
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Issued by:
ISAAC CHIPAMPE
FOR/SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
(PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS)
STATE HOUSE
August 3,
2020 5284 5284
As an Institute we wish to take this opportunity to celebrate and recognise farmers as we celebrate the 2020 Farmers Day.
The National Farmers' Day in Zambia is observed on the first Monday of August each year. There are three major categories of farmers in Zambia, defined in terms of the land area cultivated by each farmer.
1. Small-scale farmers, who are the vast majority, cultivate about less than five hectares (ha.) each, use few external inputs, and consume most of their produce, occasionally entering the market to sell any surplus.
2. Medium-scale farmers cultivate between 5 to 20 ha. They use improved seeds and fertilizers and sell most of their production. These farmers commonly use a combination of manual, animal draft power and tractors.
3. Large-scale commercial farmers plant about over twenty ha annually. These farmers apply high levels of purchased inputs and use oxen or machinery for farm operations. They produce almost exclusively for direct market sale or feed their grain to livestock kept on the farm.
With this background, The ZIPS Council and General Membership wish to pay a special cognisance for the Invaluable contribution the farming sector plays in the supply chain.
It has been said that the agricultural sector in Zambia supports livelihoods of 85% of the population, these statistics are not just figures but a reflection of Hardworking men and women that have taken up farming as a career.
If we look at the real measure of supply chain as being the success in how well activities coordinate across the supply chain to create value for consumers, while increasing the profitability of every link, then we as supply chain practitioners need to be proactively identifying the challenges in achieving this
Challenges include predominance of small/medium farmers, fragmented supply chains and absence of scale economies and coming up with solutions in procurement and sourcing. Warehousing and inventory management to name but a few where our influence can be felt.
At an individual level and in conclusion, farming is the future of wealth creation and as such I would like to employee our members to consider joining this promising sector either on small scale or Large scale.
May the Lord Richly Bless you all and Happy Farmers Day
Chibwe D. Mwelwa
ZIPS President.
July 9,
2020 5560 5560
HEROES AND UNITY DAYS HOLIDAY MESSAGE
March 23,
2020 4641 4641
ZIPS MEETS THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY
ZIPS has continued with the crusade of engaging government on various issues that affect the Supply Chain profession in Zambia.
The ZIPS President Mr. Chibwe D. MWELWA led the ZIPS Council comprising of the Vice President South, Mr. Noel Sandukiya, Council Secretary Mr. Daniel Kabamba, Council Member Mr. Patrick Tembo, the Registrar Mr. Henry Chanda, in paying a courtesy call on the Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Fredson Yamba on Friday 14th February 2020. The meeting addressed the following issues:
1. LACK OF LEGITIMATE POWER FOR THE PROCUREMENT FUNCTION
ZIPS informed the Secretary to the Treasury that the management of Government funds was by a Trio logy of departments - Internal Audit, Finance, and Procurement.
The three sectoral aspects of Government spending regime is critical to the prudent management of the public funds. The Procurement function commits Government funds and this department is the mainstay and flagship to the value addition process of acquisition of government procurement services.
Mr. Mwelwa reminded the Secretary to Treasury that Government had elevated the positions of Accountant General and Internal Auditor to the Permanent Secretary level while the third member of the trilogy, Procurement was left out.
He also reminded the Secretary to the Treasury that the entire Government procurement system had no ANCHOR in government which made procurement to be easily manipulated and that made the value addition process to be elusive. He advised the Government to quickly address this status quo because if this was not addressed the challenges that Zambia was facing relating to procurement would continue. Mr. Mwelwa further stated that the issue of legitimate power for procurement officers needed to be addressed urgently. It was noted that Government now has Director of Finance and Director of Internal Auditor yet still procurement remained at Assistant level position.
Mr. Mwelwa stated that ZIPS was advocating for the funding of the Procurement General which was already part of Government structure under PSMD.
ZIPS was concerned that the funding of this position was long overdue. Its absence had rendered the procurement function incapable of taking full responsibility and accountability in Public Procurement. The benefits to be realised from the creation of this position are highlighted as follows:
- As the anchor for Government procurement, the position at PS level will, therefore, be at the appropriate level to deal with all challenges in Government procurement, including the procurement related queries that consistently appear in the Auditor General’s Report that relate to the procurement function.
2. ALIGNMENT OF STORES FUNCTION TO ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT
ZIPS President informed Mr. Yamba that the circular No 8 of 2019 (Alignment of Public Stores Management of the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 2008) which was issued by his office created a lot of challenges because Stores Management is part of the Procurement function and NOT the function of Accounts. He further stated that the reason why the profession was called procurement and supplies is because the supplies part actually refers to the stores function.
The Institute submitted that the circular issued had caused a lot of challenges in the profession because stores officers were instructed to report to Accounts departments instead of the Purchasing and Supplies Units (PSUs) and that if these changes in Stores reporting structure were not quickly addressed and managed, it would have the opposite effect than that intended.
Mr. Mwelwa stated that ZIPS had reviewed the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 2018 and it was clear that the section being quoted in the said Circular did not indicate that Stores should be reporting to the Finance Department.
The Council Secretary, Mr. Kabamba added to the matter and stated that Supply Chain constituted of Stores, Inventory, and Procurement and these were inseparable. He further stated that the Public Finance Act makes reference to the value of inventory which goes in the ledger and Finance and Stores meet at the point of ledger because finance looks at the value while stores focus on the physical items.
The ZIPS President, Mr.C.D. Mwelwa noted that some of the challenges facing the Stores department were because a lot of Stores officers in government were not qualified and also categorically advised the Government to withdraw this communication because it was causing massive challenges.
3.0 RESPONSE FROM THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY
In responding to the issue raised by ZIPS regarding the funding of the Procurement General, Mr. Yamba noted that it was unfortunate that the position of Procurement Controller/General was not funded. He stated that he was going to engage PSMD so as to understand why this position was not funded. He further mentioned that the position was key and that funding it would streamline Supply Chain Management in government and in the nation at large.
Mr. Yamba observed that nobody was paying attention to what was happening in the procurement function when a lot of government funds were committed by the officers in this profession. He also challenged ZIPS to be more visible and continue pushing its agenda.
Mr. Yamba stated that he was on leave at the time ZIPS wrote to him regarding the alignment of the functions but assured the Institute that he was going to investigate whether the circular was in tandem with the Public Finance Act, thereafter he would constitute a team which would include the Accountant General, ZIPS and other interested stakeholders so as to see how best they could resolve this matter.
Mr. Yamba further indicated that if need be, the circular would be withdrawn after a conclusive consultative process.
Issued by
ZIPS Secretariat
19th February 2020