What the New E-Procurement System Means for Kenyans: Transparency vs. Service Delivery Risks

The National Treasury has begun rolling out a new electronic procurement system (e-GP) across national and county governments to boost transparency and efficiency in contracting. The platform, which went live on April 2, 2025, is part of IMF-backed reforms and is integrated with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to automate supplier payments.

For ordinary Kenyans, the stakes are immediate, with governors warning that forcing counties to transition prematurely could disrupt service delivery. They note that only three of 47 counties joined the pilot phase and all reported major failures. At the same time, the Treasury says the system is designed to make procurement more transparent and efficient, changes intended to improve how services are ultimately delivered.

The initiative has faced stiff contention from the National Assembly and the Council of Governors, with many terming it ill-prepared. President William Ruto has maintained that his administration will not back down on enforcing the migration, censuring those opposing the move and accusing them of benefiting from the old system.

“Procurement and accounting officers do not want this programme because they have been benefiting from the old system,” Ruto said, adding, “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.”

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has announced that all government departments must be fully integrated into the system by next week to ensure the procurement process kicks off on time. He explained that the new platform will revolutionize public procurement by automating the entire process.

“This new e-procurement system is end-to-end; it starts from budgeting to the payment stage. In the current system, once the national budget is uploaded on IFMIS, the rest of the procurement is manual. The new system will help curb issues that arise during the awarding of tenders,” he said. He added that the e-procurement system would enhance transparency and seal loopholes that have previously enabled corruption.

The e-procurement process aims to eliminate manual, laborious tasks such as eAuctions and eTenders, exchanging supplier contracts, and filling out supplier onboarding questionnaires by connecting entities and processes through the exchequer.

In the near term, Kenyans may feel the effects if county services are disrupted by a rushed transition. In the longer term, however, the Treasury argues that an end-to-end digital process will help improve transparency and efficiency in the way public resources are managed.