The National Treasury Building in Nairobi.
The National Treasury targets to save over Sh50 billion as the government moves all procurement processes online beginning the 2025/26 financial year.
All Ministries, Departments and Government Agencies (MDAs) will be required to do all their procurement through the E-GP System (Electronic Government Procurement System) as from July 1, 2025
John Mbadi the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning.
According to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, the new procurement will save the government more than Sh50 billion used by the various MDAs and the national government through the procurement processes.
He says the money will be channelled to critical sectors such as education, health and infrastructure.
Mr Mbadi pointed out that the government will not only save money through the new online process but also lock out cartels that have been latching on all government mega tenders.
“Through this system, the registration will be done online, the budget for a particular tender will also be online, the entire tendering process will also be online,” Mr Mbadi said.
“In the entire process, there will be no human interaction, a move we expect will completely eliminate corruption in the entire government procurement system,” the CS added.
According to the Treasury boss, from now until July, various government agencies such as Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) have been picked to lead the piloting phase of the new system.
Greater efficiency
Three counties-Busia, Elgeyo Marakwet and Makueni have also volunteered to help in the piloting phase of the new system ahead of the full rollout from July 1, 2025
Mr Mbadi said the system will enhance greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability in public procurement.
Government institutions reserved only Sh41 billion worth of tenders for marginalized groups
“There will no more monkey business that we have had before where people pluck procurement papers of other companies so that they can be disqualified on technicalities, you will be required to tender online, bid will be done online and the opening of the tender will also be online in the presence of all bidders,” Mr Mbadi said.
“Through this system, one will be able to go back to the system and trace why he was disqualified and the competitor picked because the evaluation of the tenders will be done live online where all parties will be present,” he added.
Mr Mbadi said once the system is fully operational, the government will only pay suppliers who tendered through the online system.
“We will only pay those who have gone through the system. All government agencies will be required to be fully compliant as from July, 2025,” Mr Mbadi said.
He said the system will also eliminate cases where counties requisition money to pay suppliers and after getting the funds, they pay totally different people who didn’t offer the services.
“Through the system, you will be able to trace who has been paid making it easy to know who offered the service and who has been paid because payment will be done through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS),” Mr Mbadi said.
He faulted the current system which he decried as entrenched corruption in all government tenders.
“Currently, everything is manual, including those that are supposed to be done online. This increases human interaction which in the end increases corruption,” Mr Mbadi said.
The system launched on Monday is an online platform designed to automate and streamline public procurement processes. It enables government agencies to conduct procurement activities electronically, improving transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the procurement process.
The E-GP system as it is referred to will digitise and streamline all public procurement processes, automating each stage from planning to payment.
In the new system, suppliers will be required to register on the e-GP platform, submit bids online, track tender statuses, and manage contracts through a digital contract management module.
The system will be integrated with key government platforms such as Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) iTax, IFMIS, the Business Registration Service, and the Integrated Population Registration System to streamline compliance verification and reduce fraud.
