The Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply accredits training institutions.
Specifically, Chuma Cha Dziko assists MIPS in the development of an accreditation program of training institutions aligned with that of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) in UK. To this end, an expert recruited by Chuma Cha Dziko has been supporting MIPS from March 2022. He is responsible for designing the Accreditation Procedure provided by the law, training MIPS officers to run the accreditation process and testing its implementation on a pilot sample of 5 training institutions.
MIPS Act and Regulations sets out the standards and process for accrediting procurement and supply institutions in Malawi. All such institutions are expected to use the standards framework as a guide when developing their training structures and programmes. The broader aim of accreditation is to ensure that institutions involved in the training of procurement and supply management workforce achieve effectiveness with a sense of accountability to the general public. The process of accreditation is a measure of quality that depends on trust, integrity and ethical judgement of its stakeholders on the observance of the set standards.
The purpose of the accreditation process is to build confidence and integrity amongst professional bodies, students, employers for better governance and quality output to match with the needs of the work place.
As part of his mission, the expert began by organising a consultation with all stakeholders in the 2nd quarter 2022. He then drafted a detailed accreditation procedure and a code of conduct for
the MIPS assessors who will implement the procedure. This preparatory phase culminated in a national validation workshop in June 2022.
As a next step, in July, he trained the MIPS team in the implementation of the procedure and the Code of Conduct.
Finally, he will be accompanying the MIPS team on its first accreditation visits in the fourth quarter before letting them fly on their own. From now on, MIPS accreditation is an essential tool designed to check compliance with the set policies and conformity to standards by institutions involved in training procurement and supply human resource.
