CoB backs new e-procurement, faults Treasury's poor rollout

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o has called for electronic procurement in government but faulted the National Treasury for poorly managing its rollout, a lapse she said may be fuelling resistance from procuring entities. Her remarks come amid raging debate over the electronic government procurement system (e-GPS), with both state agencies and suppliers struggling to adopt to the new platform. The rollout of e-GPS started on July 1 but has faced major challenges, with the procuring entities unable to upload their budgets and procurement plans for the 2025/26 financial year. The government had issued a circular earlier saying all procurement would be through the e-GPS beginning July 1. Nyakang'o weighed in on the rollout, noting that although the shift from manual procurement to e-GPS was poorly managed, procuring entities have no choice but to embrace the system. "I can tell you because I am an expert in change management. That is not how you implement change. You must implement change in a certain way; there are certain things you must do to implement change," she said. "That said, we need e-GPS. Regardless of the fact that the change has not been managed properly and therefore, it is going to create a lot of problems... we must make the best of a bad situation." "Do not keep protesting, saying it is going away. It is not going away. People complained about IFMIS and have been complaining to date... did we stop using it? Please get used to e-GPS. We are all in it, and the sooner we start using it, the better." e-GPS is expected to complement the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), which laid the groundwork for electronic procurement. IFMIS automated budgeting, payment processing, expenditure tracking and reporting but did not digitise the tendering process. Rolled out in 2005, it would however, be fiercely fought later, including by county governments, as it sought to include more modules and automate different aspects of budget implementation. Opponents of the system argued it was flawed and open to manipulation. The government, however, maintained that it was nearly foolproof, insisting rejection of IFMIS stemmed from sabotage and resistance by those benefiting from manual processes. Yet, in 2015 the government admitted hackers had breached the system and authorised illegal payments. The platform continues to attract criticism, with the Auditor General's 2023/24 report faulting IFMIS for inadequacies that often lead to loss of public funds. e-GPS is expected to go further than IFMIS by digitizing the tendering process. The rollout has, however, had a faltering start, with many state agencies yet to procure anything since July 1. Several entities struggled to onboard, with most only managing to access the system this week. Public Investments and Assets Management PS Cyrille Odede said all MDAs, Independent Commissions and offices have now been registered on e-GPS, paving the way for end-to-end electronic procurement. He added that the system is expected to reduce the cost of goods, works and services; enhance transparency; improve efficiency by shortening procurement cycles; and ensure better value for money.

CoB backs new e-procurement, faults Treasury's poor rollout

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