Suppliers from all over the country have welcomed the Electronic Government Procurement (e, GP) system recently launched by the government, saying the online platform will put an end to tender cartels, curb corruption, and lead to a fair and transparent process of awarding public contracts.
Some county dealers said the initiative offers an equal opportunity to all government tenders, particularly small and medium enterprises that have traditionally found it tough to compete under manual procurement framework.
Several companies got a chance to learn about the new e, GP system at a workshop held at the University of Embu, which is a step towards fully digitizing the procurement cycle, starting from announcement and bidding of tenders to contract and payment.
For a considerable number of years, honest and capable suppliers have complained of being locked out of government contracts through illegible manual procedures that allowed for favoritism, influence of the powerful tender cartels and corruption. Some testified that the lack of transparency was a big disincentive to the new competitors as well as the disadvantaged businesses in the outer areas that had no connections.
National Treasury officials said that the new system has already recorded successes as it allows more than 35, 000 suppliers to be registered all over the country.
Besides, they added that the system will assist in rebuilding the trust between the government and the private sector by making sure that payments are on time and that competition is fair.
Business leaders are hence encouraging all suppliers to get registered on the platform so that they can benefit from the opportunities offered under the new procurement framework. They hailed the e, GP system as a milestone in public procurement reform and as a means of encouraging transparency in government contracting.
