Procurement challenges in the Zimbabwean public sector: A preliminary study

Background: State Procurement Board procedures and the public procurement process have been blamed for the lagging behind of government projects that impact on public service delivery in Zimbabwe.Objectives: This article provides insight into challenges resulting from the legal framework for public procurement in Zimbabwe that detract from service delivery.Method: Empirical data was collected through in-depth interviews with five participants at five public entities, using a semi-structured interview guide. Content analysis was used to analyse the primary data.Results: The findings revealed various challenges in the public procurement process that detract from service delivery. These include a lack of strategic recognition of the procurement function and procurement policy; a lack of professional, managerial and leadership skills; a lack of appropriated funds from Treasury; and a lack of accountability in the procurement process.Conclusion: There is a dearth of research on the public procurement process and its efficiency in Zimbabwe, and this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by identifying areas through which public procurement can be improved in Zimbabwe.

Global Initiatives Position BCIA as an International Resource for Biofeedback Certification and Training Standards

The mission of the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) is to certify individuals who meet education and training standards in biofeedback and progressively recertify those who advance their knowledge through continuing education. In strategic recognition of the growing international interest in biofeedback research and practice, BCIA has launched a number of programs in support of worldwide biofeedback certification and global standards for training and education. This article discusses BCIA's international efforts in support of its mission.

Barriers to Involvement: the Disconnected Worlds of Disability and Regeneration

Disabled people are noticeably absent from the government's regeneration agenda, despite its current emphasis on empowering and involving local communities in urban renewal. This paper explores some of the barriers to disabled people's involvement in regeneration initiatives at the local level, focusing particularly on the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). Interviews with regeneration managers, local authority officers, disabled people and disability groups identified a range of barriers. These included a lack of strategic recognition that disabled people were ‘relevant’ to regeneration, difficulties with the SRB's centrally-prescribed outputs and timescales, a lack of accessible information for disabled people, and circumscribed local political networks which served to marginalize certain disability groups from local regeneration processes. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which some of these barriers might be addessed.