All public institutions will adopt e-tendering from December as the government moves to boost transparency and encourage citizens to participate in State tenders. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION
What you need to know:
The new electronic platform is linked to the Treasury’s master file which has indicative prices for items commonly purchased by government department and agencies.
At the moment, public tenders are done manually with suppliers buying tender forms and depositing them in some sealed boxes. Only shortlisted bidders get to know their fate at the last stages of the procurement.
To keep phantom entities at bay, a firm must have updated records at the Registrar of Companies and hold a valid tax compliance certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority in order to participate in the e-procurement.
All public institutions will have to switch to online procurement from December as the government moves to boost transparency and encourage citizens to participate in State tenders.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said all government institutions — including public universities and counties — will adopt the electronic procurement (e-procurement) platform at the end of the year to boost transparency in award of public tenders.
Under the system, the entire procurement cycle — project requisition, tendering, contract award and payment — will be done online, cutting physical contacts with government officials that fuel corruption.
The new electronic platform is linked to the Treasury’s master file which has indicative prices for items commonly purchased by government department and agencies.
“The era of hiding things from public is over,” said President Kenyatta at the launch of the system in Nairobi Wednesday.
“The automation of public financial processes will provide an interlinked system of internal controls that indicate clear audit trails and identify the originator of all transactions.”
At the moment, public tenders are done manually with suppliers buying tender forms and depositing them in some sealed boxes. Only shortlisted bidders get to know their fate at the last stages of the procurement.
Under the e-procurement, bidders who log into the system will be able to follow decisions made at every stage of the tendering.
To keep phantom entities at bay, a firm must have updated records at the Registrar of Companies and hold a valid tax compliance certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority in order to participate in the e-procurement.
The system also requires the suppliers to provide their business contacts and nature of their businesses before they are given access credentials.
President Kenyatta said the openness of the electronic system would eliminate the trend by suppliers are increasingly ganging up with bureaucrats to overcharge the State for goods and services that it purchases.
The State has been betting on the online platform to save substantial financial resources and boost the country’s investment attractiveness as procurement of goods and services constitute about 50 of annual budget.
“In deed we take pride in being the first African state to automate end-to-end payment processes in a devolved government system,” he said.
Wednesday, Treasury officials said that system was part of the Integrated Financial Management Information System.
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