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Moses Kinyanjui
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Treasury CS John Mbadi leads a technical team in unpacking Kenya's Debt Position on April 25, 2025.
The National Treasury commenced the roll-out of a new electronic procurement system to boost transparency and efficiency in national and county government contracting on April 2, 2025.
The Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System was part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed reforms to streamline government procurement and was originally set for roll-out in 2024.
The e-GP system was to be integrated with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) that the government uses for automated supplier payment.
Months later, however, the initiative has been met with stiff contention from the National Assembly and the Council of Governors, as many have termed it ill-prepared.
Governors have warned that forcing counties to transition prematurely could disrupt service delivery, noting that only three out of 47 counties participated in the pilot phase; and all reported major failures.
President William Ruto has also maintained that his administration will not back down on enforcing the migration, censuring those opposing the move, accusing them of being beneficiaries of the old system.
"Procurement and accounting officers do not want this programme because they have been benefiting from the old system," Ruto said.
"No amount of blackmail and intimidation will force us to go back on the electronic procurement. Any government official who is not willing to use it can resign and go pursue other interests."
Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has also announced that all government departments must be fully integrated into the system by next week to ensure the procurement process kicks off on time.
CS Mbadi explained that the new platform would revolutionize public procurement by automating the entire process.
He added that the e-procurement system would enhance transparency and seal loopholes that have previously enabled corruption.
βThis new e-procurement system is end-to-end; it starts from budgeting to the payment stage. In the current system, once the national budget is uploaded on IFMIS, the rest of the procurement is manual. The new system will help curb issues that arise during the awarding of tenders,β he explained.
How will it work
The main aim of e-procurement is to eliminate the need to manually carry out laborious, procurement-related tasks such as eAuctions and eTenders, exchanging supplier contracts and filling out supplier onboarding questionnaires.
The process works by connecting various entities and processes through the exchequer.
Vendor/supplier management, a key aspect of e-procurement, will be seamlessly managed by the new end-to-end system.
Likewise, Treasury anticipates reduced cost of goods, works and services, increased transparency, lower procurement cycle time, accountability, and enhanced procurement information management.
By taking procurement transactions online, the government seeks to do away with supplier and contractor exploitation by rogue and corrupt players handling payments and disbursement approvals at government offices.
CS Mbadi has asserted that the new platform has strict security measures to prevent the manipulation of documents.
So far, the e-GP portal indicates that there are 8,137 registered suppliers and 1,384 personal entities.
So far, only four entitiesβthe National Treasury, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Privatization Commission, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authorityβhave successfully onboarded the platform.
Β©Citizen Digital, Kenya
Continue reading...
- The e-GP system was to be integrated with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) that the government uses for automated supplier payment.
Treasury CS John Mbadi leads a technical team in unpacking Kenya's Debt Position on April 25, 2025.
The National Treasury commenced the roll-out of a new electronic procurement system to boost transparency and efficiency in national and county government contracting on April 2, 2025.
The Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System was part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed reforms to streamline government procurement and was originally set for roll-out in 2024.
The e-GP system was to be integrated with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) that the government uses for automated supplier payment.
Months later, however, the initiative has been met with stiff contention from the National Assembly and the Council of Governors, as many have termed it ill-prepared.
Governors have warned that forcing counties to transition prematurely could disrupt service delivery, noting that only three out of 47 counties participated in the pilot phase; and all reported major failures.
President William Ruto has also maintained that his administration will not back down on enforcing the migration, censuring those opposing the move, accusing them of being beneficiaries of the old system.
"Procurement and accounting officers do not want this programme because they have been benefiting from the old system," Ruto said.
"No amount of blackmail and intimidation will force us to go back on the electronic procurement. Any government official who is not willing to use it can resign and go pursue other interests."
Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi has also announced that all government departments must be fully integrated into the system by next week to ensure the procurement process kicks off on time.
CS Mbadi explained that the new platform would revolutionize public procurement by automating the entire process.
He added that the e-procurement system would enhance transparency and seal loopholes that have previously enabled corruption.
βThis new e-procurement system is end-to-end; it starts from budgeting to the payment stage. In the current system, once the national budget is uploaded on IFMIS, the rest of the procurement is manual. The new system will help curb issues that arise during the awarding of tenders,β he explained.
How will it work
The main aim of e-procurement is to eliminate the need to manually carry out laborious, procurement-related tasks such as eAuctions and eTenders, exchanging supplier contracts and filling out supplier onboarding questionnaires.
The process works by connecting various entities and processes through the exchequer.
Vendor/supplier management, a key aspect of e-procurement, will be seamlessly managed by the new end-to-end system.
Likewise, Treasury anticipates reduced cost of goods, works and services, increased transparency, lower procurement cycle time, accountability, and enhanced procurement information management.
By taking procurement transactions online, the government seeks to do away with supplier and contractor exploitation by rogue and corrupt players handling payments and disbursement approvals at government offices.
CS Mbadi has asserted that the new platform has strict security measures to prevent the manipulation of documents.
So far, the e-GP portal indicates that there are 8,137 registered suppliers and 1,384 personal entities.
So far, only four entitiesβthe National Treasury, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Privatization Commission, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authorityβhave successfully onboarded the platform.
Β©Citizen Digital, Kenya
Continue reading...
