The Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) has launched a national dissemination campaign for the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Act No. 7 of 2025, beginning with a two-day session in Lilongwe from 22nd to 23rd May 2025. 

The campaign aims to increase awareness among Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) and facilitate the smooth adoption of the new law, which came into effect on 31st March 2025, replacing the repealed PPDA Act of 2017. 

The 2025 Act was developed to address key weaknesses in the previous legislation, including contract monopolies, inflated pricing, and procedural inefficiencies. It also responds to findings that exposed gaps in accountability and instances where procurement roles were abused by some public officials. 

Key reforms introduced in the new Act include the mandatory disclosure of beneficial ownership, stricter pricing controls, simplified procedures, and clear definitions of procurement roles. 

The Act also supports the adoption of electronic government procurement systems, aligning public procurement practices with Malawi’s digitalisation agenda. 

Speaking during the opening session, Jonathan Kantayeni, Director for Regulatory, Review, Monitoring and Compliance, stressed the importance of understanding the law among the PDEs. “The implementers of this Act are the PDEs. It is important that they are made aware of its provisions so that, as they do their work, they know what governs their conduct and stay in line with the law,” he said. 

He added that reforms such as electronic-Government Procurement (e-GP) and sustainable procurement are expected to improve efficiency in public procurement while promoting transparency, accountability, and public trust. 

Andrew Howahowa, Chief Procurement Officer in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, who was one of the participants in Lilongwe, welcomed the sessions, saying: “You have done the right thing in the right way because most of the PDEs are not familiar with the Act, and some haven’t gone through it in detail. It is also very important that some of the procurement issues that were giving us problems have been removed from the Act.” 

PPDA will continue conducting the dissemination in other regions to ensure PDEs nationwide are aligned with the new law. The next dissemination interface is scheduled for 28th May 2025 Liwonde in the Eastern Region and on 29th and 30th May 2025 the 

activity will be held in Blantyre, in the Southern Region; and finally on 4th June 2025 the activity will be held in Mzuzu, in the Northern Region.