Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has confirmed there will be no exemptions for the electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system from the next financial year starting July. He stated this during an interview on the evening of Sunday, April 12, reiterating the government's intent to close procurement loopholes draining public resources. The eGP system was introduced to digitize public procurement, enhance transparency, and curb corruption in government spending.
Mbadi spoke in the interview, noting that the government has granted limited exemptions this financial year but will fully enforce the system from July. "If we can have a system like eGP, which is rolled out fully, we can close these procurement loopholes," Mbadi stated.
He highlighted procurement as a major area of public fund loss, especially through inflated costs. "Where we waste money is actually on the procurement side, where instead of procuring a hall for Ksh15,000, you procure for Ksh50,000, and the surplus is shared in between," he explained.
Mbadi acknowledged limited room to cut recurrent expenditure due to wage bill pressures, collective bargaining agreements (CBA), security sector demands, and inflation. Instead, the Treasury is focusing on rationalizing development spending by reviewing non-viable projects.
On multiple supplementary budgets this year, he attributed them to poor planning, omitted donor-funded projects, and court-suspended CBAs leading to salary liabilities. Meanwhile, the domestic borrowing target has been expanded by 52.29% or Sh570 billion for the year ending June 30.
