Governors have rejected the government's electronic procurement system - Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) - rolled out in August this year to facilitate openness and accountability in tendering procedures.
During a meeting of the Council of Governors (CoG), the leaders said that the project was put in place in a hurry with no consideration of other important factors. The governors added that the country did not have proper ICT infrastructure making it impossible to use the system.
“I cannot download on my phone a single attachment or open up an email and this is the reality that is on the ground, the e-procurement is a system that is dependent on excellent internet connectivity,” Mandera's Governor Ali Roba said.
The county heads stated firmly that they would not use the e-procurement system asking the National Treasury to suspend the directive until proper infrastructure is put in place.
“We are not going to use it because the infrastructure for it is not there anywa,” CoG Chairman Peter Munya affirmed.
The E-procurement was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to curb the numerous cases of irregular allocation of tenders on the rise in government departments.
Read Also: 'Cost Efficient' E-Procurement System Gets Kenya into Sh31 Billion Debt
Watch Video on NTV
[Video: ]
