NAIROBI, Kenya – The National Treasury has once again pushed back the implementation of Kenya’s long-awaited e-procurement system, despite President William Ruto’s directive for a rollout by March 2025.
The new launch date has been set for July 1, 2025, further delaying a reform that has been in the works for nearly a decade.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced that the system will first undergo a three-month trial before it is fully operational, citing the need for a phased transition.
The e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system is designed to digitize the entire tendering process— from initiation to evaluation and awarding of government contracts— in a bid to enhance transparency and curb corruption.
President Ruto has been vocal about his frustration with the sluggish implementation of e-procurement, which is projected to cost approximately Sh5.05 billion upon completion.
“The National Treasury has been dragging its feet in the implementation of an e-procurement system for nearly 10 years,” Ruto lamented during his State of the Nation Address on November 21, 2024.
“Today, I direct the National Treasury to roll out the e-procurement system by the end of the first quarter of 2025 and ensure that, going forward, only procurement undertaken through this system is sanctioned.”
However, this latest postponement signals a direct defiance of the President’s directive, raising concerns about the government’s commitment to digitizing public procurement.
Initially slated for rollout in July 2024, the e-GP system faced budgetary constraints, forcing Treasury to seek additional funding.
In January 2024, Treasury informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the system was being piloted in 12 ministries and state departments.
The IMF has been a key proponent of the shift to digital procurement, pushing for reforms to enhance accountability in public spending.
The system is expected to minimize human interaction in tendering processes, thereby limiting opportunities for bribery and fraud— issues that have long plagued Kenya’s procurement sector.
Internationally, corruption concerns remain a sticking point.
The United States has repeatedly criticized Kenya over bribery demands at both national and county levels.
“Corruption remains a substantial barrier to doing business in Kenya. US firms routinely report direct requests for bribes from all levels of the Kenyan government,” former US Trade Representative Katherine Tai noted in the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.
Despite the slow progress in automating tenders, the Treasury has successfully migrated claims payments to online platforms.
The upgraded national Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) now processes purchase orders and invoices digitally, reducing bureaucratic red tape and minimizing avenues for graft.
