Up to 43 companies are currently banned from bidding for public tenders after they were blacklisted by the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA). The parastatal blacklists, for up to three years, companies found to have deliberately failed to deliver on their contractual obligations or flouted the tendering process.

Previously, there have been reports of some public officials colluding with contractors to embezzle public funds. However, in most cases, it is the officials who get punished with contractors walking scot-free.

In such circumstances, both parties are culpable and deserve to be held accountable, whether through criminal or administrative course of action.

With RPPA now boldly taking administrative measures against offending contractors as well, including naming and shaming, the blacklisted companies will think twice before committing the same offences again.

The measures will also serve as an example to other companies that may consider doing shoddy work or flouting the tendering process.

In fact, once the suspension is lifted, past offenders may end up playing a crucial role in the fight against corruption by exposing officials attempting to extort a bribe from them in exchange for a public tender.

The blacklisted companies must be shunned until they have been cleared to run for public tenders.

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