Zimbabwe Tenders and Deadlines

Mqhele Tshuma: we always seek to make sure that the cake is spread to everyone and everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and have their fair share within these systems

Nyasha: That was Mqhele Tshuma of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, speaking to Business Times in July. Good morning. This is Zimbabwe Tenders and Deadlines from Executive AI Studio, for Monday the twenty-sixth of October. I'm Nyasha, an AI presenter, and with me is our AI correspondent, Farai.

Farai: Morning, Nyasha. Good to be here.

Nyasha: This week: furniture, printing and computers for councils, ministries and parastatals. Two funding calls. A new law on safety at work. And the nearest date, the ZIMDEF levy on the first of November.

Nyasha: We start with the tenders, from the electronic procurement board of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, PRAZ. Six hundred and thirty-two notices close by the ninth of November. Only firms registered on the system can bid. Here's Mqhele Tshuma of PRAZ, speaking to Business Times in July, on the cost of registering.

Mqhele Tshuma: we managed to get a statutory instrument which confirmed reduction of our registration fees to allow everyone in the economy to participate in public procurement

Nyasha: Furniture and printing first. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission wants pull-up banners, closing on Thursday the twenty-ninth of October at nine. The National Aids Council wants its mission statements and clients charter designed, printed and framed, closing on Friday the thirtieth at five in the afternoon. The City of Mutare wants diaries and calendars. That one closes at midnight going into Monday the second of November, so in practice the night before.

Nyasha: The city also wants school furniture, closing on Monday the second at noon. And the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development wants furniture delivered in Masvingo, and calendars and diaries in Harare. Both close on Friday the sixth of November, at ten and at eleven.

Farai: Nyasha gets the furniture and I get the computers. Fair, since I live in one. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is tendering again for a camera and lenses, closing on Thursday the twenty-ninth of October at nine.

Nyasha: Sorry, Farai, tendering again?

Farai: Yes, it's marked as a retender, so ZEC is asking for bids a second time. The Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe wants a heavy duty printer, a laptop and toners, closing on Friday the thirtieth at eleven. The City of Mutare wants desktops, laptops and cameras, closing at the start of Monday the second of November. Empowerbank wants a firewall and redundancy, closing on Tuesday the third at ten. And the Ministry of Women Affairs wants ICT equipment in Masvingo, closing on Friday the sixth at nine.

Farai: In services, the National Social Security Authority wants fumigation across its offices, closing on Friday the sixth of November at ten.

Nyasha: Still open from last week: NSSA's stationery, closing on the twenty-ninth of October, and Harare Polytechnic's school desks, closing on the fifth of November.

Farai: Now to funding. The TEEEM Foundation funds nonprofit and charitable organisations around the world. Its grants run from five thousand to thirty thousand US dollars, and applications close on the first of November.

Farai: The AI for Good Innovation Factory is a United Nations pitching platform for startups. It is open to ventures using artificial intelligence and machine learning to address real-world problems, and the final winner receives a twenty thousand US dollar cash prize. Applications are open until the twenty-third of November. Check who can apply on each funder's page.

Nyasha: Rules and deadlines. The ZIMDEF training levy for October, one per cent of the gross wage bill, falls on Sunday the first of November. That date comes from a ZIMDEF notice of July 2020, so check it with ZIMDEF. By Thursday the fifth of November, employers file the October PAYE return with ZIMRA, with payment due by the tenth.

Nyasha: The fifth is also the date for the October return on withholding tax on tenders and contracts. It covers a business that paid a supplier more than one thousand US dollars without a valid tax clearance, and withheld thirty per cent.

Nyasha: New this week. The Herald reports that President Mnangagwa has signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law. Workers now have a right to stop or refuse dangerous work, and protection from dismissal for doing so. Employers with five or more workers at a workplace must let workers appoint or elect a safety and health representative. And NSSA gets a new Occupational Safety and Health Department.

Nyasha: Here's what Kennias Shamuyarira, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions, told The Herald, read by an AI voice.

Kennias Shamuyarira (read by an AI voice): The Act strengthens the basis upon which workers and their representatives can demand preventive measures, meaningful consultation, effective inspections and safer working environments.

Nyasha: And finally. What you're hearing is a grain mill at work. The National Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe says its Industrial Development Fund has invested in fifteen companies this year. One is Buntu, a small grains processor that works with one thousand two hundred contract farmers in Tsholotsho and Binga. Buntu says it used to handle about seventy tonnes of grain a year, and has now received more than two hundred.

Nyasha: Here's the company's chief executive, Tino Kambasha, at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair earlier this year.

Tino Kambasha: We've invested in milling stations in decentralized places. So again, having aggro processing in decentralized areas is quite important.

Nyasha: This show is brought to you by Executive AI Studio. We build AI assistants for Zimbabwean businesses. Find us at executiveai.studio.

Nyasha: Every notice is linked in the episode notes. Check the closing date and the bid documents on the notice itself before you bid, and for how a rule applies to your business, ask your accountant or ZIMRA. This episode was researched and written by AI. I'm Nyasha. Have a good week.

Nyasha: Hello. This is Zimbabwe Tenders and Deadlines from Executive AI Studio, for Thursday the twenty-second of October. I'm Nyasha, an AI presenter, and with me is our AI correspondent, Farai. This week: tenders for stationery, furniture, computers, cleaning and security from ministries, a hospital and parastatals. Three funding calls, including one from UNICEF. And the nearest date, VAT on the twenty-fifth of October, where ZIMRA's own sources disagree.

Nyasha: We start with the tenders. They come from the electronic procurement board of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, PRAZ, and bidders must be registered on that system. The board lists six hundred and seventy-one notices closing by the fifth of November. Here are some suited to smaller firms.

Nyasha: Office supplies and furniture first. The National Social Security Authority wants stationery delivered to its Gweru office, closing on Thursday the twenty-ninth of October at ten in the morning. The Forestry Commission wants a framework agreement for stationery across its offices in Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Gwanda, closing on Friday the thirtieth of October at ten. Peoples Own Savings Bank wants custom office furniture, closing on Wednesday the twenty-eighth of October at eleven. And Harare Polytechnic wants school desks, closing on Thursday the fifth of November at ten.

Farai: In computers and communications, the Insurance and Pensions Commission wants computer and telephone network installations, closing on Wednesday the twenty-eighth of October at four in the afternoon. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage wants laptops, closing on Friday the thirtieth of October at ten fifty-nine at night.

Nyasha: Cleaning and hygiene. The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe wants bin liners, closing on Tuesday the twenty-seventh of October at ten. Mpilo Central Hospital wants a firm to repair and service its laundry washers and driers, closing on Friday the thirtieth of October at noon. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce wants fumigation against cockroaches and rats at Mkwati Building. That one closes soonest, this Sunday, the twenty-fifth of October, at eleven in the morning.

Farai: Services. Petrozim Line wants security services for all its sites for twenty-four months, closing on Friday the thirtieth of October at eleven fifty-nine at night. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation, SMEDCO, wants branding for its Bindura branch, closing on Monday the twenty-sixth of October at nine in the morning. And one large contract for context: the Zimbabwe Power Company wants a CCTV system for its head office and its Harare, Bulawayo and Munyati power stations. Bids close on Tuesday the third of November at three in the afternoon.

Farai: Now to funding. Three calls this week. MIT Solve's Global Economic Prosperity Challenge wants solutions that help individuals, families and small businesses build financial health and resilience. Every team selected receives a ten thousand US dollar grant. Applications close on Friday the sixth of November at midday, US Eastern time. UNICEF Femtech Ventures wants companies building open-source solutions for the health and wellbeing of girls and women. Applicants must be registered in a UNICEF programme country and have a working prototype. Selected companies receive up to one hundred thousand US dollars. Applications close on the fourth of November.

Farai: And D-Prize offers up to twenty thousand US dollars to launch a new organisation that fights poverty through distribution. It especially encourages applicants from low- and middle-income countries, and most winners are first-time entrepreneurs. The regular deadline is the fifteenth of November, Pacific time. Check who can apply on each funder's page.

Nyasha: Rules and deadlines. The nearest date is unclear. ZIMRA's tax payment dates page still gives Sunday the twenty-fifth of October for VAT returns and payments from businesses in Categories A and C. ZIMRA's public notices since 2025 put the VAT return on the tenth and payment on the fifteenth, so check with ZIMRA. The ZIMDEF training levy for October falls on Sunday the first of November, from a ZIMDEF notice of July 2020, so check that date with ZIMDEF.

Nyasha: By Thursday the fifth of November, employers file the October PAYE return with ZIMRA, with payment due by the tenth. The fifth is also the date for the October return on withholding tax on tenders and contracts. It covers a business that paid a supplier more than one thousand US dollars without a valid tax clearance and withheld thirty per cent.

Nyasha: New this week. On the twenty-first of October, ZIMRA issued a notice on enhanced controls for temporary import permits for foreign-registered vehicles. The permits are ordinarily issued for no more than thirty days. And at a post-Cabinet briefing, acting information minister Professor Paul Mavima said the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will suspend or revoke the licences of non-compliant foreign-owned businesses in the sectors reserved for Zimbabweans under Statutory Instrument two hundred and fifteen of 2025.

Nyasha: This show is brought to you by Executive AI Studio. We build AI assistants for Zimbabwean businesses. Find us at executiveai.studio.

Nyasha: Every notice is linked in the episode notes. Check the closing date and the bid documents on the notice itself before you bid, and for how a rule applies to your business, ask your accountant or ZIMRA. This episode was researched and written by AI. I'm Nyasha. Have a good week.