Special groups tender Tanzania: the 30 percent share and the file behind it

Every Mainland Tanzanian public body must plan to give part of its yearly buying to groups of women, young people, older persons and persons with disabilities. The share is 30 percent. The practical questions concern the file: what a group must hold, what a company may do beside it, and why bids fail.

This guide keeps three layers apart: law (the Public Procurement Act, 2023 and GN No. 261 of 2025), PPRA practice (the 2025 Guidelines and circulars) and press. Each claim names its layer, and where the desk could not read a source, it says so.

What the law or standard says on the special groups share

The Act sets the principle and leaves the number to the Regulations. Section 64 requires a procuring entity to set aside a portion of its annual procurement for special groups, following the Regulations. It names women, youth, the elderly and persons with special needs. It does not say 30 percent, although some press copy credits the Act with the figure.

Regulations 33 to 36 do the work. The desk read them in the English text on the Ministry of Finance site, which shows GN No. 261 and a publication date of 25 April 2025.

Source	Layer	What it fixes
Act, section 64	Law	A portion of annual procurement goes to special groups.
Act, section 72	Law	Debarment, including for breaking a securing declaration.
Regulation 33	Law	Who qualifies: registered, listed, 70 percent membership.
Regulation 34	Law	Registration route, training, no award to an unlisted group.
Regulation 35	Law	30 percent of annual procurement, within the locality.
Regulation 36	Law	Timely payment, with funds committed first.
PPRA Guidelines, 2025	Regulator practice	Size, ages, documents, ceiling, securities, evaluation.

Regulation 35 has five parts. The entity must give 30 percent of its annual procurement of goods, works and services to special groups within its locality. If it falls short, it must give reasons. A reserved tender may not exceed the quotation thresholds in the Sixth and Seventh Schedules. The entity must follow the Authority's guidelines, and an accounting officer who breaches the regulation faces disciplinary action.

Regulation 48 is a different rule. It reserves at least 30 percent of annual procurement value for tenders open only to local persons and firms. The two shares are separate, so a company cannot claim the groups' share.

Who should read this

This guide is for members of youth, women's, older persons' and disability groups who plan to bid, and for the officers who run the register. Firms asked to support a group should read it too. A firm that wants to bid for itself should read the NeST registration and tender file guide and the Zatra post on registering as a government supplier.

What changed in 2026?

No new statute arrived. What changed is attention and published numbers. PPRA's announcements page lists Circular No. 4 of the 2025/2026 on allocating 30 percent of an institution's annual procurement plan to special groups. That page dates it 29 June 2026, while the circulars listing shows 26 June 2026. The circular PDF is a scanned image, and the desk could not extract its text. This guide therefore does not describe its paragraphs. Read it before you rely on it.

In a news item of 23 August 2026, PPRA gave the counts below. It also said groups had secured more than TZS 56 billion in contracts and that a group may win up to TZS 500 million in one contract.

Group type	Registered on NeST
Youth groups	13,317
Women's groups	13,400
Older persons' groups	643
Groups of persons with disabilities	586
Total stated by PPRA	27,946

The lines add up to the total. Still, treat the numbers with care. In February 2026 the Daily News reported about 1,000 groups on NeST and about TZS 24 billion awarded. The counts differ more than twenty-fold in six months, and the desk cannot say whether they measure the same thing. On 17 September 2026 The Citizen reported a Lindi conference urging groups to take the share, but only its summary loaded.

Who counts as a special group?

Regulation 33 sets four tests. The group must be registered and recognised by a relevant body, and listed on the Authority's register. At least 70 percent of members must come from the group's category, and the group must be governed entirely by it. It must also have the capability and equipment for the work. The Guidelines, which are practice, add detail:

• Women: female Tanzanian citizens aged 18 or over.
• Youth: citizens aged 18 to 35. The 2007 youth policy uses 15 to 35.
• Older persons: citizens aged 60 or over.
• Persons with disabilities: a physical, intellectual or sensory impairment. The Guidelines exclude mentally challenged persons.
• Size and form: 5 to 20 Tanzanian members, up to 30 percent from other eligible special groups. The group must not be a company.
• Standing: no bankruptcy proceedings and no debarment under section 72.

Women's and youth groups graduate once cumulative awards reach TZS 5 billion. Youth groups must replace members over 35, and PPRA can remove a youth group if 70 percent or more of its members are over 35 and it cannot show replacements. Groups of older persons and persons with disabilities have no time limit.

How does a group register on NeST?

The route has two halves, and the first is outside NeST. Regulation 34 and the Guidelines describe it:

1. Form the group. Five to twenty members, with a constitution and minutes approving it.
2. Apply to a supporting entity. This is a public body such as a local authority, ministry department, SIDO or VETA. The Schedule 1 form is used.
3. Take the training. The entity must provide it before certifying. Topics include procurement procedure and financial management.
4. Receive the certificate. The entity registers the group and sends the list to PPRA within 14 days.
5. Register on NeST. Registration is by business line: goods, works, non-consultancy or consultancy. It is renewed every year.
6. Appoint a representative. A power of attorney names the person who submits bids.

PPRA's Director General told the Daily News in February 2026 that groups should register directly and not pay intermediaries. A procuring entity may not award to a group missing from the Authority's list, so check your listing before bidding. The NeST special groups page loaded blank for the desk, so its on-screen fields are not described here.

What file must a group be able to produce?

Clause 8 of the Guidelines lists the registration papers, and the tender document adds its own. Keep both in one indexed folder, as the tender evidence index approach suggests.

Document	What it proves	Source
Introduction letter per member	Eligibility, via the local authority.	Guidelines cl. 8
Group profile	Members and their category.	Guidelines cl. 8
NIDA number per member	Citizenship and identity.	Guidelines cl. 8
Two referees	Standing with the authority.	Guidelines cl. 8
Constitution and minutes	Governance by the group.	Guidelines cl. 8
Address, BRELA business name, TIN	A registered name, not a company.	Guidelines cl. 8
Bank statement	Mandatory in all four categories.	Guidelines Sched. 6
Litigation history	Mandatory for works, goods and services.	Guidelines Sched. 6
Power of attorney	Authority of the representative.	Guidelines cl. 21

The Zatra posts on business name registration and TIN registration cover two of the filings. Section 72 makes false claims about qualifications a mandatory ground for debarment, so every paper must match the real group.

Fee at 26 Sep 2026	Amount	Register ID
BRELA business name, application	TZS 15,000	F0022
Notarial attestation	TZS 20,000	F0153
NeST tenderer registration, annual	TZS 100,000 a year	F0174
NeST tender participation, national	TZS 30,000	F0175

The two NeST lines are the general tenderer fees. Whether a registered special group pays them is unverified, so ask PPRA before budgeting. These fees go to the authority and are separate from any adviser's fee.

Can a company stand behind a group?

A firm may offer to prepare a bid, supply equipment or lend a name. The desk found no provision creating a role for a supporting company. In the Guidelines, "supporting" appears only in Special Groups Supporting Entity, which means a public body.

The sources point one way. A group must not be a company. Members are individual citizens, led by their own category. The Guidelines are silent on subcontracting and joint ventures with a firm. The Act requires debarment of a tenderer who makes false claims about qualifications, and a firm's directors count as the tenderer. The Daily News reported PPRA warning against middlemen who sell access.

So a firm cannot take the reserved work through a group it controls. A firm that supplies a group at arm's length, such as hiring out a truck, should hold its own file: BRELA certificate, TIN, tax clearance and a matching letterhead. Where an arrangement goes beyond plain supply, take it to an advocate before signing. The line between help and fronting depends on the tender document and contract, which the desk has not seen. A firm may still compete in procurement outside the reserved share.

How large can one contract be?

Regulation 35(3) caps a reserved tender at the quotation thresholds in the Sixth and Seventh Schedules. The desk did not find those schedule values in the Gazette text it could read. Clause 16 of the Guidelines states TZS 500 million for goods, works and services, and PPRA repeated that figure in August 2026. Confirm the schedule before you rely on it for a large lot.

Point	Rule	Source
Ceiling per contract	TZS 500 million	Guidelines cl. 16
Tender security	Securing declaration, no bank guarantee	Guidelines cl. 15
Performance security	Declaration: works to TZS 500 million, goods and services to TZS 200 million	Guidelines cl. 15
Advance payment	Against a bank guarantee	Guidelines cl. 15
Splitting a lot	Only with Authority approval	Guidelines cl. 14

The Guidelines do not say what applies to goods or services between TZS 200 million and TZS 500 million. Ask the entity. A declaration is a promise with a penalty, because breaking one can lead to debarment. See the guide on securing declarations and bid security.

How are special group bids evaluated?

Clause 25 tells entities to use the standard tender documents on NeST and the criteria in Schedule 6. The table shows the works category as the desk reads it. The tender document in front of you governs.

Part	Works: mandatory	Works: optional
Commercial	Litigation history, completion period, harassment declaration	None listed
Financial	Bank statement, access to finance	Financial statement, turnover
Forms	Tender validity, securing declaration	None listed
Technical	Key personnel, current commitments	Experience

Goods, services and consultancy follow the pattern with their own items, such as specification compliance for goods. Under clause 11, a group with no experience may have that requirement waived. It is then judged on key personnel, litigation history, declarations, access to finance, and the site organisation, equipment, work plan and mobilisation schedule. Write those with the same care as the price.

Tenders are advertised first within the locality and, if no acceptable offer arrives, may be re-advertised regionally. Regulation 35 does not define "locality", so read the notice for the area it names.

Mistakes that cause rejection

These are the desk's reading of the rules, not a PPRA list of rejection causes.

• Not on the list at award. Regulation 34 bars award to an unlisted group, and a lapsed yearly renewal can cause this.
• Wrong business line. A group registered for goods that bids a works lot has the wrong category.
• Membership below 70 percent. Over-age youth members count against the group.
• A missing mandatory item. A bank statement or securing declaration left out is a failure, not a weak score.
• Loose papers. No power of attorney for the signer, or names that differ across the NIDA, BRELA, TIN and constitution papers.
• Overreach. Current commitments are mandatory, so a stretched group should skip another lot.
• Paying a middleman. PPRA says registration is direct.

Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar

Everything above is Mainland law and PPRA practice. Zanzibar has its own authority and procurement law, and the desk could not confirm a matching set-aside there.

Point	Mainland	Zanzibar
Regulator	PPRA	Zanzibar Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ZPPRA), formerly ZPPDA.
Main law	Act of 2023 and GN No. 261 of 2025	Zanzibar Public Procurement Act, 2025 (Act No. 2 of 2025), which repeals Act No. 11 of 2016.
30 percent groups share	Regulation 35	Unverified.
NeST and PPRA register	Mainland entities	Use by Zanzibar bodies is unverified.

The sibling note on tender evaluation criteria read the Zanzibar Public Procurement Act, 2025 in full and records that it repeals the 2016 Act and renames the regulator. The older ZPPDA overview page still describes the 2016 Act, so treat that page as dated. This desk could not confirm a set-aside for special groups in Zanzibar. For Zanzibar company registration, see the Zatra post on BPRA, not BRELA.

Worked example: a youth group and a council drain tender

This example is illustrative. The council and group are fictional, and the award rule is assumed to be lowest evaluated responsive price.

Kilele District Council plans TZS 4,200,000,000 of annual procurement. The 30 percent share is 4,200,000,000 × 0.30 = TZS 1,260,000,000. It awards TZS 336,000,000 to special groups, which is 8 percent. The gap is 1,260,000,000 − 336,000,000 = TZS 924,000,000, and Regulation 35(2) requires reasons.

Zinduka Youth Group has 12 members: ten youth and two adult women. The 70 percent test needs 12 × 0.70 = 8.4, so at least 9 youth members. Ten passes. The council advertises a drain lot estimated at TZS 96,000,000, which is 19.2 percent of the TZS 500 million ceiling.

Bidder	Bid in TZS	Mandatory items	Result
Zinduka Youth Group	94,500,000	All present.	Responsive.
Group B	91,200,000	No securing declaration.	Rejected.
Group C	99,800,000	All present.	Responsive.

Group B is cheapest but fails a mandatory form. Zinduka is lowest of the responsive bids and wins at TZS 94,500,000. Its earlier awards were 41,000,000, 58,000,000 and 36,000,000, a total of TZS 135,000,000. The new total is 135,000,000 + 94,500,000 = TZS 229,500,000, which is 4.6 percent of the TZS 5 billion graduation line.

The group's cash cost to assemble the file was TZS 15,000 for the business name plus TZS 20,000 for one attestation, a total of TZS 35,000 at fees at 26 Sep 2026 (register IDs F0022 and F0153). No cash security was needed, because both securities are declarations.

What to do now

1. Confirm the category. Decide whether the group is women, youth, older persons or persons with disabilities, and test ages against 70 percent.
2. Read the sources. Read Regulations 33 to 36, the Guidelines and Circular No. 4 itself, not a summary.
3. Apply to the supporting entity. Keep the training attendance record.
4. Build the indexed file. Gather every item in the table and check the names match.
5. Check the NeST listing. Confirm the right business line and a current renewal.
6. Appoint the representative. Sign a notarised power of attorney.
7. Read each tender document. Note the locality, mandatory items and ceiling before committing.
8. Use an advocate for disputes. Speak to an advocate if you are rejected, debarred or offered a proposal by a firm, and refer tax filings to an accountant.

Key dates

No single statutory deadline governs the share. The table lists the dates of the sources and the periods in them.

Date or period	Event	Layer
20 Sep 2024	GN No. 813 publication of the English Act.	Law
23 Jan 2025	Special Groups Guidelines take effect.	Practice
25 Apr 2025	GN No. 261 shown as published.	Law
29 Jun 2026	Circular No. 4 posted by PPRA.	Practice
23 Aug 2026	PPRA news item with registration counts.	Regulator statement
Within 14 days	Supporting entity sends the list to PPRA.	Practice
Every year	Renew the group's NeST registration.	Practice
Within 21 days	Appeal against debarment.	Law

What the NEMBO desk prepares

The client shares the facts: members, past work and what the tender asks. Zatra Consultants prepares and checks the content. NEMBO designs and delivers the finished documents.

• A group profile and capability statement, built as a tender file with proof on the investor and tender documents desk.
• A tender evidence index listing each paper and its status, from the free checklist.
• A group letterhead from the letterhead desk.

There are two cost buckets. Government fees at the official rate are paid to the authority and are separate from NEMBO's and Zatra's fees. Those fees are published on packages and pricing and quoted in writing. The process page shows how a job runs, the brief form starts one, and the answers page covers common worries.

How Zatra helps

Zatra checks the facts and figures in the file: that membership meets the 70 percent test, that ages follow NIDA dates, and that names match across the BRELA, TIN and constitution papers. It checks that each mandatory item is present and that the price schedule adds up. It reads the tender document against the file and lists gaps. See its tender and procurement advisory page and the post on qualifying before you bid.

The desk does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome, whether that authority is a bank, a tender panel or a regulator. It does not register groups, which is the work of the supporting entity and PPRA. Disputes and legal opinions go to an advocate.