The High Court has suspended the Treasury’s directive requiring all government entities to adopt electronic procurement, ordering that both digital and manual submissions be accepted and processed equally under existing procurement law.
- •The Treasury has projected KSh150 billion in savings for the 2025/26 financial year from the shift to e-procurement, savings that were intended to strengthen the government’s consolidation efforts and reduce procurement leakages.
- •The conservatory orders, issued by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, effectively paused a flagship digitisation reform that had been in force since July and was central to Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s fiscal strategy.
- •The Treasury’s e-GP system is part of the IMF-backed reforms and integrates with IFMIS to automate contracting from budgeting to payment.
Governors have consistently argued that the rollout of the new procurement platform was rushed, technically deficient, and imposed without adequate consultation. They argued that its centralized implementation could imperil the autonomy of their operations.
“The hasty and inconsistent roll-out of the e-GP system has disrupted service delivery in Counties, particularly in health. Only three Counties participated in the pilot, yet the system was enforced nationally without addressing glaring gaps,” the Council of Governors stated at a special meeting earlier this month.
So far, just a few national agencies, including the Treasury itself, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, have successfully onboarded the system.
The digital procurement system is also facing backlash from members of parliament who are pensive about legal and infrastructural gaps that could undermine its rollout. Legislators cautioned that limited internet access in parts of the country may disadvantage suppliers and potentially breach constitutional standards of fairness and accessibility.
The court’s orders now leave the Treasury navigating a hybrid procurement regime, balancing paper-based and digital submissions.