Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta today unveilled the electronic procurement and payment system (e-procurement) in a move expected to draw openness in the management of public finances with emphasis on transparency, accountability and prudence in the use of public resources.
Kenyatta said the launch e-procurement is a step forward in the realization of Kenya’s Vision 2030 aspirations for a public service that is “citizen-focused and results-oriented” and delivers quality service to all Kenyans.
“We are committed to implementing these reforms and in particular e-government because we know very well that a modern and results-focused public service is a prerequisite for the country’s socio-economic transformation,” said Kenyatta.
The e-procurement is expected to assist in ensuring that public financial resources are used prudently and for the intended purposes to end complaints from Kenyans that the Government was being overcharged for goods and services that it purchases.
The system is expected to eliminate the abuse of the government’s procurement system and instill confidence in Kenyans that they are getting value for money and hence the reason why they should pay taxes. The Kenyan governement spends around 50 percent of its annual budget on procurement of goods and services, the system will therefore save it substantial financial resources.
The e-procurement system is also expected to strengthen the government-supplier relationship by streamlining the procurement procedures, to provide easy access to information and documents, to increase the number of bidders as the bidding process gets simplified, and to ensure cost savings for the government and all taxpayers.
According to Kenyatta, the “Procure to Pay” module of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) will automate public financial processes, interlink system for internal controls to enable clear audit trails and identification of the originator of all transactions and as well introduce a new era to government procurement by bringing to an end manual procurement challenges that the country has experienced in the past.
“This will indeed, make Kenya a more attractive destination for investment.Indeed, we take great pride in being the first African country to automate end-to-end procurement and payment processes in a devolved government system,” concluded Kenyatta.
Kenya’s National Treasury has been putting up a Government digital payments portal that will enable Kenyans to make payments to the Government electronically instead of using cash. The system will be launched in a few weeks.