Treasury CS Mbadi: E-procurement rollout will proceed despite High Court suspension
CS Mbadi argued that manual procurement systems have been a major source of corruption and revenue loss.
The National Treasury has maintained that all public entities must adopt the eGP system, dismissing resistance from Parliament and the courts, arguing that manual procurement systems have been a major source of corruption and revenue loss.
Speaking on Thursday before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Implementation of House Resolutions, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said, despite a High Court suspension of mandatory e-procurement, the government will continue with the transition to digital systems to curb inefficiencies and revenue leakages.
More To Read
- MPs summon Treasury CS Mbadi, PS Kiptoo and PPRA chief over e-procurement system implementation
- High Court ruling puts brakes on National Treasury’s mandatory e-procurement directive
- Controller of Budget backs e-procurement system but faults National Treasury for "chaotic" rollout
- Government sets September 19 deadline for migration to e-procurement system
- 1,420 public agencies now on government’s e-procurement platform
- Counties not against e-procurement, just need a functional system - CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi
Mbadi said the government had directed all procuring entities to strictly implement the e-tendering system.
This move comes even after a court ruling requiring compliance with Section 77 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which allows both manual and electronic procurement methods. The National Assembly in August also annulled a circular mandating eGP, citing constitutional concerns.
“Even if you annulled the PPRA circular No 04/2025, we have a circular that I issued in March and the circular by the Head of Public Service issued in June this year on eGP,” Mbadi said.
“We have the Public Finance Management Act, Regulations 2020, and Article 227 of the Constitution that gives me the power to provide a system for public procurement. We are telling our officers to go to e-procurement. There are those resisting and waiting for miracles to happen, but that will not happen. We are not going back to manual procurement.”
Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Monday suspended the mandatory use of eGP pending the determination of a petition by the Council of Governors and four others. However, Mbadi emphasised that the government is determined to proceed with the digital system.
“We are not ignoring any court order. We are not ignoring resolutions of the National Assembly. We are implementing an electronic procurement system. The manual system can wait,” he said, adding that certain agencies, such as KenGen and Kenya Pipeline Company, had been exempted since they already operate their own e-procurement systems.
Mbadi said President William Ruto, in his State of the Nation Address on November 21, 2024, directed the Treasury to roll out eGP by the first quarter of 2025. The rollout was reinforced in the 2025/26 Budget statement and later by a Cabinet resolution in June that made eGP the primary method of procurement across government.
“The implementation and use of the eGP system will result in reduced cost of goods, works and services, increased transparency in procurement processes and practices, improved efficiency in procurement by minimising the procurement cycle time, maximisation of value for money, accountability, improved confidentiality, and authentication of transactions between procuring entities and suppliers, streamlined procurement procedures across through the standardisation of processes and practices and enhanced procurement information management that will facilitate procurement planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting,” Mbadi said.
He told the committee, chaired by Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala, that Treasury had registered 1,379 procuring entities and 10,000 suppliers on the system, while 14,000 officials and suppliers had undergone training.
According to him, 64 State departments, 94 county government entities, 635 State corporations and 37 county governments have already onboarded.
“As part of the rollout, the National Treasury carried out a massive registration exercise of all procuring entities and suppliers, training of users of the eGP system from all procuring entities, training of suppliers and issued more circulars for ease of implementation of the eGP system by procuring entities,” he said.
Mbadi reiterated that the manual procurement system is prone to manipulation and results in significant loss of taxpayers’ money.
“This country is losing a lot of money through procurement flaws. You gave me a job, please allow me to do the job of cleaning up procurement flaws,” he told MPs.
“I am asking this committee and the House to support the Cabinet Secretary to seal revenue leakages and loss of taxpayers’ money through the manual procurement system.”
But MPs questioned the pace of implementation, warning that the eGP rollout could lock out many suppliers.
“This system was rushed, and there is no procurement going on in the first quarter of this financial year. Why not use both manual and electronic procurement methods as allowed in law?” Wanjala posed.
Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje, Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau, Kipkelion MP Hillary Kosgei, and Trans Nzoia Woman Representative Lilian Siyoi also criticised the government for pushing through the system without accommodating suppliers.
Top Stories Today
