NAIROBI, Kenya – The government has issued a sweeping directive to ministries, departments, state corporations and other public agencies to fully enforce the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme, warning that non-compliance will attract disciplinary action.
Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, in a circular dated this week, said the move is aimed at accelerating the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and correcting persistent underperformance in inclusive public procurement.
Launched in 2013, AGPO is an affirmative action policy requiring that at least 30% of all government procurement be reserved for enterprises owned by women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The law also mandates that no single category receive more than half of the allocation, and at least 2% be set aside for PWDs.
But official data shows the programme has consistently fallen short. The Economic Survey 2023 reveals that between the 2015/16 and 2022/23 financial years, women received less than 10% of the total tender value, youth 6.02%, and PWDs just 1.42%.
The overall uptake averaged 16.84% — barely half the statutory target.
Compliance in reporting has also lagged, with only 44.1% of procuring entities submitting complete AGPO reports to the Public Procurement Information Portal (PPIP) as required by law.
“In light of this persistent underperformance, and in line with the President’s directive to accelerate inclusive procurement as an engine for economic transformation, all Accounting Officers are hereby directed to meet the AGPO thresholds,” Koskei wrote.
Under the new directive:
- 30% of annual procurement value must be reserved for the three target groups, with at least 2% for PWDs.
- AGPO allocations must be embedded in annual and quarterly procurement plans, with specific targets for each category.
- Quarterly AGPO implementation reports must be submitted without exception to the PPIP, disaggregated by gender and category.
- Agencies must roll out structured capacity-building programmes for AGPO-registered suppliers on bidding, contract management, and compliance.
Koskei warned that failure to meet the quotas or submit complete reports will trigger “administrative and disciplinary action” under the Public Service Performance Management Framework and other applicable laws.
The compliance status of all entities will be made public, with AGPO performance serving as a key indicator for evaluating accounting officers in the current and future financial years.
“All entities are expected to demonstrate measurable progress in AGPO implementation as part of their contribution to the realisation of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” Koskei said.
