Government sets September 19 deadline for migration to e-procurement system

All government state departments and agencies have until September 19, 2025, to complete and upload their annual procurement plans to the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, according to Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.

In a circular dated September 5, 2025, Koskei noted that the National Treasury had already uploaded budgets of all state departments onto the e-GP platform and instructed accounting officers to review them for accuracy against the approved 2025/26 allocations.

“To ensure veracity and avoid any discrepancies, all accounting officers are directed to undertake an urgent validation of their respective state department budget as uploaded onto the e-GPs against the approved budget for the financial year 2025/26,” reads the circular in part.

“Accordingly, accounting officers are hereby asked to ensure that their procuring entity’s annual procurement plans are finalised and published in the e-GPs portal by Tuesday, September 19, 2025, in line with Section 44(2)(l), 53, and 158(2) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, to pave way for the subsequent procurement processes, without further delay.”

The government launched the e-GP on July 1, 2025, to automate procurement from planning to payment. Authorities project the platform will save up to Sh150 billion in the 2025/26 financial year by sealing loopholes blamed for graft, including inflated prices and payments to ghost suppliers.

The shift to digital procurement was also part of Kenya’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under reforms aimed at reducing debt through spending controls and increased revenue mobilisation.

As part of the rollout, budgets for both county governments and national government entities must now be loaded onto the e-GP system for procurement approvals to proceed.

However, the migration has faced technical and operational challenges that have delayed budget implementation. Some national agencies and counties have been left without funds, triggering a serious cash crunch just a month before the end of the first quarter of the financial year.

Delays in uploading budget documents and inadequate user training have been among the complaints raised by county governors.

Governors have warned that forcing counties to transition prematurely could disrupt service delivery, noting that only three out of 47 counties participated in the pilot phase and all reported major failures.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi reported that last week, only seven counties had yet to migrate to the platform as of Thursday. He noted that 30 counties had fully onboarded, while 10 others were awaiting approval from the Controller of Budget.

“Before the end of today (Thursday), that should have been concluded,” Mbadi told reporters.

By Wednesday, however, just 19 counties had been registered on the system, with several devolved units accusing the Treasury of a sluggish rollout that has worsened cash flow problems.

Mbadi clarified that all state departments have already uploaded their budgets onto the platform, which integrates procurement from tender advertisement to payment of contractors.

Public Investments and Assets Management Principal Secretary Odede Wagunda reiterated the government’s commitment to digitisation, ruling out any reversal of the e-procurement policy.

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“The digital systems are aimed at improving ownership and accountability,” Wagunda said.

He added that the IFMIS Asset Module would provide accuracy, enhance safeguarding of public resources, and ensure standardised reporting across both levels of government.

The PS urged county governments to promptly submit names of designated officials to be mapped into the IFMIS system and called for urgent action on securing title deeds and other documents for public assets.

“Proper ownership remains the legal foundation of effective asset management,” he said.

President William Ruto has also maintained that his administration will not back down on enforcing the migration, censuring those opposing the move, accusing them of being beneficiaries of the old system.

"Procurement and accounting officers do not want this programme because they have been benefiting from the old system. No amount of blackmail and intimidation will force us to go back on the electronic procurement. Any government official who is not willing to use it can resign and go pursue other interests,” he said.