Marsabit: The government has digitalized the procurement procedure of goods and services starting this Financial Year, and field offices are being asked to ready themselves for the changes. Marsabit County Commissioner James Kamau stated that the electronic government procurement (e-GP) was mandatory to enhance accountability and transparency in government financial operations.

According to Kenya News Agency, Mr. Kamau, who was chairing the county heads of department service delivery meeting in his office, mentioned that the move was also meant to hasten service delivery as digitization infuses efficiency and fairness. The County Commissioner highlighted that the government is fine-tuning the laying out of the digital superhighway to ensure the rollout of the new system is effective and reliable.

Mr. Kamau noted that the digital superhighway program is part of the bottom-up economic transformation agenda (BETA), which is expected to streamline the procurement of public goods and services. He added that it would also be an effective tool in the fight against corruption. With competitiveness and openness, there is bound to be value for money, as inflated costs of goods would be checked, while operation costs in government offices would be significantly reduced.

He emphasized that all services related to sourcing goods and services will only be processed through the new system. He urged departments and agencies to ready their offices for the new changes to ensure a smooth transition for uninterrupted service delivery. County head of procurement Jamila Dima stated that plans to train procurement entities, including suppliers, were underway.