Digital tenders system to link taxman, companies’ registrar

Kenya plans to roll out an e-procurement system linking the taxman and the registrar of companies to stop State agency suppliers from avoiding tax or using unregistered firms.

The plan is also meant to connect with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) in a move that is likely to improve transparency of the transactions involved and avoid errors. That presumes that past weaknesses such as unauthorised changes to IFMIS entries have been addressed.

The procurement system will also be linked with the National Council for Persons with Disability.

The exercise, which is outlined by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani in the Budget Statement 2020/21, is supposed to take place in the next six months and completed by the end of this calendar year.

“The Government will procure and roll out an end-to-end e-procurement system by December 2020. Under the e-procurement system, all procurement processes will be undertaken on an online platform where benefits will accrue to the government procuring entities in terms of cost reduction, speed, transparency, accountability and visibility,” says the Treasury.

“The system has also been linked to other Government institutions including Kenya Revenue Authority, National Council for Persons with Disability, Registrar of Companies and IFMIS to facilitate faster verification and reporting.”

The CS further said there is a plan to enhance uniformity of operations across procuring entities and promote local economy through affirmative interventions on preferences and reservations.

He said the new procurement system has been re-engineered to ensure youth, women and people with disabilities has opportunities in government tendering and are promptly paid.

“In order to ensure the growth and sustainability of enterprises owned by women, youth and persons living with disabilities, the National Treasury has reengineered the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) portal to enable real-time registration and transparent monitoring of the implementation of the scheme.