Framework for Public Procurement During Emergencies: Transparency International Zimbabwe Deadline: 13 September 2020 Background In the recent past, Zimbabwe suffered several health emergencies and natural disasters which impacted on the appropriation and finance decisions of government including public procurement. These include the cholera and typhoid outbreaks, floods, cyclones and the coronavirus pandemic which has devastating health, social and economic implications worldwide. Most if not all resulted in the loss of life and livelihoods. Cyclone Idai of 2019, for instance, directly affected close to 270 000 people in Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts (Mercy Corps, 2019). The Zimbabwean government through strategic support from African Development Bank, World Bank and other partners ear marked USD$96.7 million to restore livelihoods and rehabilitate infrastructure for the victims in the area. This entails massive public procurement involving huge sums of money. In a bid to fast track public procurement to address the emergencies, procurement rules and regulations are normally relaxed. Regrettably, public officials take advantage of the relaxation in public procurement rules and regulations to engage in unsupported, fraudulent and excessive expenditures at the expense of the ordinary citizens. In the case of COVID-19, following the release of circular No. 1 of 2020 by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), there are allegations of fraudulent awarding of tenders resulting in government losing millions of dollars and innocent citizens losing their lives due to corruption in COVID-19 related procurement. Emergency situations provide opportunities for the manipulation of data as well as creation of conditions that encourage the improper use of emergency funds and extraordinary budgets. Although there is limited data to conclude on the total public financial losses, there is a consensus amongst governance experts that the public procurement process during emergencies is marred with corruption that includes price inflation, favoritism and other malpractices. Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI Z) believes that budgets for emergencies must be administered in accordance with the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, economy, transparency and impartiality. However, these principles are not adhered to especially during emergencies as evidenced by, limited information sharing from the State, poor public fund administration, untimely reporting systems and poor monitoring processes. It is this viewpoint that TI Z seeks the services of a consultant or researcher to develop a framework for procurement during emergencies in the Zimbabwean context. Objective To develop a framework for public procurement during emergencies. Expectations Conduct a thorough literature review on procurement processes and identify viable case studies of analysis; Submit the paper with specific guidelines of research requirements as highlighted by TI Z’s Research and Advocacy Officer; Incorporate comments and suggestions from stakeholders; Produce a well-written and comprehensive research paper with CLEAR policy options and recommendations. Deliverables Submission of periodic progress reports as agreed in the contract; A well-written and comprehensive research report. Scheduling The assignment is scheduled to run for 14 days from the date of awarding of the contract. Payment Payments by the organization are delivery-based. Any deliverable not meeting the required specifications will have to be reworked and resubmitted at no additional cost to the organization. The proposed payment schedule for this assignment is upon submission of progress reports on completed tasks, outlined against planned outputs. Based on the report and satisfactory performance, payments will be approved by the Executive Director. Role of Transparency International Zimbabwe The organization through its research team will work together with the consultant on this assignment. The organization will also avail all the necessary documentation and information required for the execution of the assignment and review the draft report. Qualifications and Experience Advanced university degree (MA or PhD) in social sciences preferably Economics, Procurement, Administration, Governance, Project Management or any other relevant subjects; Minimum five years of work experience in the areas of procurement, governance and anti-corruption related issues; Demonstrated knowledge and experience in undertaking research studies, both quantitative and qualitative, especially in the areas of governance; Knowledge of Zimbabwe’s socio-political and cultural contexts is an added advantage; Excellent English language skills and ability to write clear and compelling content for a wide variety of audiences; Ability to work with minimum supervision and deliver the outputs with high quality; Ability to meet deadlines.