e-GP System
What is the e-GP system?
Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System is an internet-based platform that allows public institutions to involve suppliers in the acquisition of goods, works, consulting, and non-consulting services required by the public sector.
What does ZPPA intend to achieve with the introduction of the e-GP system?
- Reduce the time and cost of doing business for both bidders and PEs
- Realize better value for money spent through increased competition
- Standardize public procurement processes across government departments/agencies
- Allow the equal opportunity to all bidders
- Bring transparency (good governance)
- Social-economic development
- To make it easy for ZPPA to monitor compliance
Will the e-GP system lead to the loss of jobs for Procurement Practitioners?
No. The system is simply a tool to facilitate the procurement processes and will still require humans to manage tenders/procurements.
Why are we going for an electronic procurement system?
There are various challenges in the current public procurement system affecting the procurement process and making the procurement operations more complicated. Hence, the government decided to move towards the electronic government procurement system.
Who can access the e-GP system?
Various entities such as the general public, payment services providers, procuring entities, tendering community, development partner, various stakeholders, evaluation committee, and the e-GP system administrator can access the e-GP system to make the procurement process smoother and more effective.
What are the main objectives of the e-GP system?
The main objective of the e-GP system is to standardise and make the procurement process transparent, easy, timely, and cost-effective.
Who will benefit from the e-GP system?
The e-GP system will benefit all the stakeholders such as bidders, PEs, ZPPA, the government and the general public.
What are the modules on the e-GP system?
Various modules of the e-GP system include e-Registration, e-Tendering, e-Notification, e-Evaluation, Attorney General, e-Contract Management, and Auditor General.
Can the e-GP system be integrated with other entities?
The e-GP system can be integrated with various entities such as Banks, OSSIS, NCC, IFMIS, etc., to perform the procurement operations smoothly.
How does the e-GP system help Bidders?
- Consistency of process and 24X7 accessibility
- Tenders are encrypted at the time of submission
- Both offline and online payment options
How does the e-GP system help PEs?
- It automates viewing of all tenders online including past data for reference as all tender-related information will be available online.
- It reduces the time for the finalisation of tenders.
- It helps in the easy generation and sharing of management reports.
- It helps in the easier management of framework agreements.
- It simplifies the publication of information to bidders, suppliers, and the general public.
- It improves accounting and controlling possibilities of public procurement.
- It provides an effective audit trail.
How does the e-GP system help ZPPA?
- Makes it easier for ZPPA to monitor compliance
- Allows integration with other stakeholders’ systems
- Helps to standardize public procurement across government departments, ministries, parastatals, local authorities and spending agencies.
- Makes it easier for ZPPA to improve public procurement processes
- Easy generation and sharing of management reports
- Provides an effective audit trail
How does the e-GP system help the Government?
- Value for Money
- Enhance Trust
- Reduce Procurement Lead Times
- Stop Corruption
- Efficient Monitoring
- Availability of Data
Supplier Registration
Why is it important for suppliers to register with ZPPA?
To facilitate visibility to Procuring Entities (PEs). PEs may use the supplier register to identify suppliers in different categories. Suppliers are stakeholders in public procurement hence when their details are captured, it becomes easy for the Authority to monitor their activities and possibly engage them in some of the exercises to develop public procurement. With the e-GP system only registered suppliers can interact/transact with PEs on the system.
What do I need to register my Company on the e-GP system?
- PACRA Certificate
- ZRA TPIN
- Valid email address
- A non-refundable fee of K 300.00
How do I register my company on the e-GP platform?
Registration is done online by following this link:
https://eprocure.zppa.org.zm/epps/prepareRegisterEOOrg.do?registerEO=true&selectedItem=prepareRegisterEOOrg.do%3FregisterEO%3Dtrue
How do I pay for supplier registration or tender participation in the system?
The system has two payment options, the online payment option where you pay using your VISA Card or Master Card and the offline payment options where you log on to the system and download a Bill Muster form from the system which you present at any Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) Branch.
How do i access the e-GP system?
On the ZPPA public website, you get two options to access the e-GP system. You can click on ZPPA e-Tendering or Go to e-GP System. Both will take you to the homepage of the e-GP system.
How to view the current tenders in the e-GP system
On the e-GP system homepage, you need to click on Current Tenders which is available in the top right corner of the homepage. It will display a list of tenders which you can view.
Do I need to make any payment to view the tender?
Access to all tender documents is free on the e-GP provided you have successfully registered your company on the system.You will only be charged at the time of submission for those tenders with a participation fee.
Do I require to fill all the fields of the supplier registration form to complete the registration process?
You need to fill in all the mandatory fields to complete the registration process. If you wish, you can skip the optional fields. However, it is advisable to fill all the fields.
What is the UNSPSSC code?
It is United Nations Standard Products and Services Code.
What is an administrator account?
This is the Admin account with all the privileges. Keep in mind that later on, you will be able to create other user accounts for the same company.
I have submitted the registration form but my profile is not yet active.
After submitting the registration form you will get an email from the ZPPA mentioning how to complete the registration process. After completing the registration process, you need to pay the registration fee. After making the payment and getting approval from the ZPPA, your account will be activated.
How much I need to pay for supplier Registration
You need to pay 300 ZMW.
How to get my registration document?
You can download the registration document. An option is available under your profile. Click on Download Registration Document under Supplier Management section.
How to check the validity of my registration?
You can see the validity period of your registration in the supplier document.
How to Create Annual Procurement Plan
When are Annual Procurement Plans (APP) required by ZPPA?
By the 15th day of the first month after the commencement of the procuring entity's financial year (e.g. 15th January).
Who can create an annual procurement plan?
PE-HP or PE-CPO users from the Procuring entity can create an annual procurement plan.
How to fill the template for the annual procurement plan?
Initially, you need to download the template for the annual procurement plan. It has two tabs – Information and Data. The Information tab gives the information about various components which need to be filled in when creating the annual procurement plan. It mainly describes how to fill in those components.
What happens when my APP contains an error?
You need to revisit the plan and correct it. The Status of the uploaded plan will be highlighted in red color.
How will I know my APP is submitted successfully or not?
You will see a success message saying that the submission was done successfully. Also, the Status will be changed from red to yellow. It means the plan is submitted successfully to the authority to review and pending acceptance.
How to identify the errors in APP?
To view the error and to find out exactly where it is on the Annual Procurement Plan template, you need to download the error report. Once the file is downloaded, open it in Microsoft Excel. It will give a brief description of the error.
How to view the feedback received from the authority after successfully submitted the plan?
To see the feedback received from the authority, you need to click on the Feedback available under the Action section.
Bid Submission
What’s the difference between a bid Security and Bid Securing Declaration?
Bid security is a monetary guarantee intended to discourage bidders from withdrawing their bids before the end of the bid validity period because they would otherwise forfeit the bid security amount to the procuring entity, whereas, a bid securing declaration is a non-monetary form of bid security where a bidder commits to not withdrawing their bid before the end of the bid validity period, otherwise they would be automatically suspended from being eligible for bidding in any contract with the Procuring Entity for the time stated in the solicitation document.
What are the requirements to participate in public tenders?
- Legal Capacity to enter into a contract
- Fulfillment of obligations of paying taxes and social security contributions
- Bidder should not be solvent, and not in receivership, bankrupt or wound up, its affairs administered by a court or a judicial officer, or its business activities suspended or subject to legal proceeding for any of the foregoing
- The bidder should not have a conflict of interest about the procurement requirement
Is it mandatory to obtain a waiver from ZPPA When using the Direct Bidding procurement method?
Not all Direct Bidding procurements should be submitted to ZPPA for approval, the Authority has issued various administrative circulars guiding the PEs on the conditions for use of this procurement method (Circular No.1 of 2013 and Circular No.3 of 2017).
What are the grounds on which a bidder/supplier can be suspended from participating in Public Procurement?
- Providing false information in a bid or any other document submitted in connection with a procurement process or contract
- Connivance to interfere with the participation of other bidders
- Refusal to sign a contract or to furnish performance security by the terms of the Solicitation Document and bid if required to do so or
- Failure to comply with a bid securing declaration
Do I have to be in a particular locality where the tender is being floated for me to participate in the tendering process?
No. The system is location-independent; you do not have to be in a particular location for you to access the system. You could be anywhere in the world, all you need for you to participate in the tendering process is a computer and internet connectivity.
How do I submit my bid for tenders on the system?
Bids are submitted electronically. You have to download a tender preparation tool from the system and prepare your bids using this tender preparation tool. After you have worked on your bid, you have to save and package it before you can upload it back on the system.
How secure are the submitted documents? Can someone from the Procuring Entity (PE) or ZPPA tamper with my bid after it has been submitted?
Tenders are encrypted at the time of submission and no one can tamper with them after you have submitted them on the system.
How do I get feedback from the Procuring Entity after I have submitted my bid?
The system has automated email alerts that notify you when you have successfully submitted your bid and also when the PE has awarded the tender. Suppliers can also check the status of the tender they participated in by going to the e-GP system under the Current Tenders and checking the status for the tenders.
Do I have to pay for me to view the tender documents for tenders floated on the system?
The tender documents for tenders on the system can be downloaded free of charge. Bidders are only required to pay at the bid submission stage when they want to submit their bids.
How do I search for tenders on the system?
To view the list of current tenders, click on the Current Tenders available in the top right corner of your profile page or you can search for it by clicking on the advance search and typing the tender type i.e cleaning services and the system will filter out cleaning tenders e.t.c
Where can I see the bid opening date, bid submission date, etc. for a particular tender?
After clicking on the tender, at the bottom of the page, you can find various important information about the tender like dates for tender invitation, bid opening date, end of clarification period, deadline for bid submission, etc.
How can I clarify my doubts related to a particular tender?
After going through all the documents, if you need any clarification, you can ask the Procuring Entity that floated the tender. For this, you need to access the Clarifications section and then click on Request for Clarifications to raise your query.
Do I need to make any payment before submitting my bid?
For open tenders or limited tenders or tenders with a participation fee, you need to pay before participating. The payment can be done online via visa cards or offline through downloading the bill muster form from the system. For simplified tenders there is no participation fee.
How should I prepare my bid, online or offline?
You can prepare your bid Online or Offline. It is recommended to use the offline method because you can prepare your bid without constantly being connected to the Internet. It is also the most convenient way.
What are the system requirements to prepare a bid offline?
You must have Java installed on the computer as a prerequisite. If you do not have Java installed on your computer, then you can get Java from www.java.com. Make sure it’s installed and up to date. Remember, Java is free.
What are the documents I need to attach to submit a bid?
You need to upload all the Mandatory Documents. As a bidder, you need to comply with what is being requested.
How do I know my bid is submitted successfully?
Upon successful submission, the status for all the components in the bid details section changed to green, meaning you have successfully submitted your bid.
Can I delete and resubmit my bid?
You can delete your bid and upload a new version of it provided the bid submission deadline has not passed.
Where can I see the tenders where I have been invited to participate?
You can go to the Tender Management and click on List of My Tenders to see the tenders where you have been invited to participate.
How
The
Bid Opening
Should every member of the Senior Management (Heads of Departments) in an institution be a member of the Procurement Committee?
No. Any member of staff (at a senior level) with the requisite experience and skill can be appointed by the Controlling Officer as guided by the Public Procurement Act and it's Regulations.
Who can open the bid?
Any PO/OS associated as an Opening Officer to that particular tender can open the bid.
What is the meaning of the status Waiting Bid Opening?
It means the bid submission deadline passed and the bids have not been opened.
What is the full form of PO/TC, PO/OS, PO/ES,PO/ESR
PO/TC – Procurement Officer/ Tender Coordinator.
PO/OS – Procurement Officer/ Opening Staff.
PO/ES – Procurement Officer/ Evaluating Staff.
PO/ESR - Procurement Officer / Evaluating Staff Responsible
How many officers are required to evaluate a tender?
For simplified bidding, the tender coordinator can evaluate the tender. But for an open or limited tender on the other hand requires a minimum of 3 officers to evaluate.
How can an officer come to know if he/she has been assigned as an evaluator?
Once the role is assigned, that particular officer is intimated through an email.
Can a bidder withdraw his/her bid?
Yes, with proper communication. If the procuring entity receives communication from a bidder that their bid should not be open, it should not be selected in that case.
What is the tender opening report?
The tender opening report gives brief information about the bidders that have participated in the tender. Information such as:
- The name of the institution.
- The date and time when the tender was opened
- Name of the tender that is for what purpose the tender was floated for.
- The name of suppliers who have submitted bids
- The country from which the supplier is
- The bid sum of the bids received
Bid Evaluation
What is a Debrief and why is it Importance?
A debrief is the feedback given to suppliers by the Procuring Entity providing reasons why the supplier's bid was not successful. This helps the supplier to understand the strengths and weaknesses of its bid and the decision-making criteria used in the evaluation process.
Should Procuring Entities develop their supplier registers?
ZPPA maintains a centralised database through the the e-GP system and PEs can use the centralized data for all categories as registration of their own suppliers would be duplication. Suppliers are however not required to be in any database to be able to participate in public procurement.
Why are end-users prohibited from Collecting Quotations?
The role of end-users is to provide technical input to the procurement process, the collection of quotations is a function for the Procurement Unit in line with Section 25(2) of the PPA. The other roles of end-users are limited to what is contained in Section 33 of the PPA.
Are all contract variations supposed to go to the Procurement Committee for approval?
Each respective contract shall state any approval requirements for contract variations.
Can we assign officers from other government organisations to evaluate bids?
Yes. In some of the cases, we need to assign officers from other government organisations to evaluate bid.
What is the code of conduct for evaluating staff?
Every evaluating officer should accept the code of conduct before starting the evaluation. Code of conduct mainly reflects on honesty, integrity, impartiality of the officers while evaluating the bid.
What does conflict of interest mean?
If you have any relations, with any of the bidder/s or share a personal or business interest, you cannot participate in the evaluation process.
What is the role of a tender coordinator?
The tender coordinator performs the overall activities starting from assigning the evaluating officer, sending evaluation report to the controlling officer or procurement committee, publishing the contract to announcing the award.
Which level of hierarchy needs to be followed while evaluating a tender?
After evaluating the bid by the PO/ES, the head of the procurement needs to finalise the evaluation. After finalisation, every officer who took part in the evaluation process including the head of the procurement needs to approve the evaluation report. And finally, the Controlling officer or procurement committee approves the tender.
Why does the evaluator need to provide justification for a rejected document?
For the bidders to understand why their bids have been rejected, or what are the modification or documents are expected from the bidder to fulfill the bid submission process.
Are all officers need to evaluate the bid?
Yes, all the officers who have been assigned for the evaluation need to evaluate the bid.
What score should an officer give for a valid document and an invalid document?
For a valid document, the evaluator will give the value of the threshold the set in the tender created I.e 100 %. And for an invalid document evaluator will give 0. The evaluator cannot give something like 50% or 75%. It has to be 100 or 0.
Can Officers directly finalise the evaluation without saving it as a draft?
Yes. But it is always advisable to save it as a draft before saving it as final.
What is an evaluation report?
Evaluation report gives a brief idea about the overall evaluation process about a particular tender like the list of bidders who took part in the tender, bidders who passed the evaluation, bidders who failed in evaluation, evaluating officers who took part in the process, name of the bidder who is awarded. A brief description of every stage of the evaluation.
Who needs to approve the evaluation report?
All the officers who took part in the evaluation process need to approve the evaluation report.
What is the role of a controlling officer?
The controlling officer is the final authority who can approve or reject the evaluation report. The controlling officer can approve or reject the bid depending on the amount for that tender (Threshold). The controlling officer also needs to attach a document supporting his decision for approval.
How do bidders come to know about the announcement of the tender award?
The system notifies the bidders about the about the award of the tender.
What is the role of the procurement committee?
The controlling officer is not going to approve all the tenders. High-budget tenders are approved by the procurement committee. It is the highest approvals for the Procuring Entity.
What is the threshold amount for a controlling officer?
Tenders under the budget of 50,000.00 can be approved by the controlling officers. If it is above 50,000.00 then the tender needs to be approved by the procurement committee.
Supplier Management
Can I edit my profile and update all the fields?
Yes. Except for username, you can edit all other fields.
My payment status is showing completed but my account status is showing pending.
¬ After completing the payment, ZPPA has to approve your profile, and then your account will be activated.
Can I update the UNSPSC codes?
Yes. This facility is available under supplier management.
I have updated the UNSPSC codes but still it is showing old UNSPSC codes in my registration document.
After updating the UNSPSC codes, you need to regenerate the registration document before downloading it. Click on Regenerate Registration Document and then click on Download Registration Document to get the updated registration document with new UNSPSC codes.
Can I add another user to my account?
Yes. You can add a new user to your account.
What are the differences between supplier admin and supplier user?
Supplier Admin has more privileges than user Admin. Supplier Admin can perform all the activities wherein User Admin can perform only those activities which are assigned by the Supplier Admin.
I have added one new user but the status is showing inactive.
After adding the user, you will get an email from the ZPPA mentioning how to complete the registration process. Go through the email and follow the mentioned steps. The newly added profile will be activated.
Can I get a user manual?
Yes. To learn more about the e-GP system and how to use it, you can download the user manual. To download the user manual, click on User Manuals available in the top right corner of the homepage.
How can I contact the ZPPA help desk?
To contact the help desk, click on the Contact Us button available in the top right corner of the homepage. Here, you can see all the phone numbers and email id to contact the help desk. Also, you can fill in the inquiry form to submit your query.
I have forgotten my password, how to reset it?
If you forget your password and want to reset your password, then go to the Login section, click on Forget Your Password, and follow the steps.
I need some clarification about the working of the system, whom shall I contact?
If you get any doubts or need any clarification about the working of the system, you can click on Frequently Asked Questions. It displays a list of questions and answers and you might get your answer from here. Otherwise, you can contact the help desk.
While trying to resetting my password it is asking me to provide an answer to the secret question. I do not remember it now. How to reset my password without providing the secret answer?
It is not possible to reset the password without filling in the secret answer. That’s why it is important to remember the secret question and answer while creating the profile. Contact the ZPPA help desk to solve the issue.
The validity of my registration document is expired. How to renew it
To renew it, you need to pay the registration fee. For this, you can make the online payment or you can make the payment through a deposit form. After making the payment, click on the Regenerate Registration Document. It will update the Registration document. Then download the new Registration Document.
How to Create a Tender
Who can create a tender?
The Head of the procurement and Chief Procurement Officer users can create a tender.
Can I add additional sections and criteria for a selected tender?
At the time of defining evaluation criteria, you can add additional sections and criteria.
What is the difference between Text Field and Text Area?
The text field contains only 50 characters. If you need more than 50 characters then you need to use Text Area which contains up to 5000 characters.
I cannot see the threshold value in the technical section.
In the technical section, you need to set the threshold value. By default, it is not available like other sections.
When to select Tax Allowed in Financial Section while creating a tender?
For suppliers who pay other taxes than VAT, you need to select TAX Allowed.
How is simplified bidding different from open national tender?
In simplified bidding, you need to invite the participants. For open tenders you need to create the tender notice which can be viewed by local and citizen bidders.
How many participants need to be invited while creating a tender for simplified bidding?
Minimum three participants need to be invited.