KISUMU, Kenya – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has thrown his weight behind the government’s push to fully digitize procurement, insisting the shift to the electronic system is necessary to curb graft despite teething problems.
Murkomen said the e-procurement platform, spearheaded by the National Treasury, will strengthen transparency, accountability, and competitiveness in government contracting.
“It will ensure the most qualified persons deliver services to Kenyans,” he said Friday. “When you introduce a new system, you will definitely have challenges. It can’t be theoretical but practical.”
The CS dismissed mounting criticism from some quarters of government and suppliers who have complained about technical hitches and delays in tendering, arguing that such setbacks are part of the transition process.
“We totally support the e-procurement. There are some challenges, and we will continue having challenges when you introduce something new. But you must adopt the system, then work on the challenges,” he added.
Murkomen said he had personally used the platform to approve procurement plans and found it both effective and reassuring.
“I was very happy the other day to approve the procurement plan electronically. Yes, we are having challenges, but those challenges will ensure the process is transparent,” he noted.
The remarks come as the Treasury moves to enforce a mandatory shift to the digital platform across ministries, departments, and agencies — a reform it argues will seal corruption loopholes that have plagued public procurement for decades.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Implementation of House Resolutions on Thursday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi defended the directive, saying manual procurement systems had long enabled corruption and drained public resources.
“Manual procurement can wait. We are not going back. This country is losing a lot of money through procurement flaws, and you gave me a job to clean that up,” Mbadi told lawmakers, adding that the government was determined to complete the transition to digital tendering.
The High Court on Monday suspended the mandatory eGP rollout pending determination of a case filed by the Council of Governors and four others.
Parliament had also annulled a circular mandating the system, citing constitutional violations.
