- Until recently, the procurement of ICT goods and services by Kenyan ministries and State corporations was vested in the hands of the Ministry of ICT.
- To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the utilisation of ICT related expenditure, President Uhuru Kenyatta has now reversed this 2018 executive order.
Until recently, the procurement of ICT goods and services by Kenyan ministries and State corporations was vested in the hands of the Ministry of ICT. To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the utilisation of ICT related expenditure, President Uhuru Kenyatta has now reversed this 2018 executive order. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said that through amendments to 2021/22 Budget Estimates sent to Parliament, it is proposed to decentralise the provision for ICT expenditure under the State Department for ICT and distribute to the respective Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
Until recently, the procurement of ICT goods and services by Kenyan ministries and State corporations was vested in the hands of the Ministry of ICT. To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the utilisation of ICT related expenditure, President Uhuru Kenyatta has now reversed this 2018 executive order. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said that through amendments to the 2021/22 Budget Estimates sent to Parliament, it is proposed to decentralise the provision for ICT expenditure under the State Department for ICT and distribute to the respective Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. The logic behind the central purchase was that standardising government procurement would lower the high costs enabling the government to negotiate prices. The centralised procurement also addressed challenges in the public sector, such as the duplication of projects, non-compliance with standards, waste of resources, and exposure to security threats due to the use of illegal and unauthorised software.
Critics pointed out that such a central arrangement offered huge opportunities for rent-seeking and corruption. The latest Auditor-General’s report revealed that following the consolidation of procurement of ICT equipment and related services, the State Department for ICT identified 54 products and 54 suppliers. These suppliers were awarded framework contracts to supply the identified products to the Government for a period of two years. However, the framework contracting was not done in line with the norms, as only one supplier was selected instead of the mandatory minimum of seven. Such a move, it was pointed out, eliminated competition necessary to ensure prices for commodities procured are comparable to the market value.
