The Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) Malawi hosted a delegation from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority of South Sudan at a dinner on Wednesday 13th August 2025 evening at Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe, marking the end of  a three-day benchmarking visit running from 11 to 13 August 2025. 

Board Chairperson Mr. Jacob Nyirongo said the visit reflected the spirit of African solidarity and the importance of sharing knowledge between nations.

 “Africa is one people, and we must continue to learn from each other to strengthen our systems for the good of our citizens,” he said.  

He commended the delegation for their commitment to learning from Malawi’s procurement reforms, adding, “I am very happy to hear that your team has benefited immensely from this visit and that you are going back ready to implement the measures you have gathered from Malawi.” 

The Board Chairman also highlighted Malawi’s journey towards a fully digital procurement system, backed by strong political will, and the Authority’s achievement of full financial independence over the past three years.

 “Our journey shows that government institutions can stand on their own and still deliver effectively,” he said. 

Director General Dr. Edington Chilapondwa said that the Authority was proud to have been chosen as a partner in efforts to improve public procurement and disposal of public assets in South Sudan. 

“We are proud that they have chosen us to work with them, not to teach them, but as a team together pursuing the objective of having a transparent and accountable public procurenment and disposal of public assets system,” he said. 

He outlined four focus areas for the visit: supplier registration, compliance and monitoring, capacity development, and financial sustainability. On supplier registration through MANePS, Dr. Chilapondwa informed the visiting delegation that over 50 suppliers have registered. On the other hand, a total of 32 procuring and disposing entities have been onboarded. 

These are scheduled to start using MANePS for their procurement from  15 August,2025.  

He also welcomed South Sudan’s plan to send staff to PPDA Malawi for attachments, allowing them to gain hands-on experience. On sustainability, he pointed to PPDA Malawi’s successful transition from a government-funded to a self-reliant organization as an approach that South Sudan could adopt. 

The leader of the delegation, Mr. Ajang Deng Daniel, who heads the Department responsible for Performance Monitoring and Audit in South Sudan, expressed appreciation for the warm welcome and the knowledge gained during the benchmarking exercise. 

He said the benchmarking exercise had provided valuable insights that would guide their reforms back home, particularly in digitalisation and improving supplier registration systems. “We have learned a lot from our Malawian counterparts, and we look forward to putting these lessons into practice,” he said. 

The dinner was one of several engagements during the visit, which aims to deepen the institutional collaboration between the two Authorities and contribute to improved procurement practices in the region.