SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND
COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA
DURING THE LAUNCH OF E-GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AT KENYATTA
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, NAIROBI ON 13TH AUGUST, 2014
Fellow Kenyans,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to join you today to ofcially launch the electronic
procurement and payment system (e-procurement! "he opportunity to launch e-
procurement #rings me particular pride, happiness and a sense o$ accomplishment!
"his is a journey that goes #ac% to &'(' when I was then responsi#le $or the )nance
port$olio!
In &'(', we as a Government too% the )rst step to reengineer the Integrated Financial
*anagement In$ormation +ystem (IF*I+, as part o$ a comprehensive re$orm
programme o$ our ,u#lic Financial *anagement +ystem!
"his moment, there$ore, carries signi)cant resonance and sym#olism to me $or it was
here, in the year &'(( that I launched,-theIntegrated Financial *anagement
In$ormation +ystem .e-engineering +trategic ,lan/ $or the period &'((-&'(0!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me at this juncture ta%e a $ew minutes to put into conte1t what we are doing here
today! 2s you are aware, the 3onstitution o$ Kenya lays out the principles that guide all
aspects o$ the management o$ our pu#lic )nances,with particular emphasis on
transparency, accounta#ility and prudence in the use o$ pu#lic resources! "he
3onstitution, in 2rticle (' also articulates the national values and principles o$
governance, which include integrity, transparency, and accounta#ility!
"hese are the values that my Government cherish and is promoting throughout the
entire pu#lic service! "he roll out o$ Integrated Financial *anagement In$ormation
+ystem all the way to the county governments,and indeed the launch o$ e-procurement
that we are witnessing today, are part and parcel o$ this no#le e4ort!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
"oday5s launch o$ e-procurement is a step $orward in the reali6ation o$ our 7ision &'0'
aspirations $or a pu#lic service that is -citi6en-$ocused and results-oriented/ and
delivers 8uality service to all Kenyans! 9e are committed to implementing these
re$orms and in particular e-government #ecause we %now very well that a modern and
results-$ocused pu#lic service is a prere8uisite $or the country5s socio-economic
trans$ormation!
Let me this point spell out some the $undamental #ene)ts that we shall accrue $rom
adopting an e-procurement system!
First, e-procurement will to large e1tent assist in ensuring that pu#lic )nancial
resources are used prudently and $or the intended purposes! :ver the years, we have
heard complaints $rom Kenyans that the Government is #eing overcharged $or goods
and services that it purchases!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
;y introducing transparency and accounta#ility through e-procurement, we e1pect
more or less to eliminate the a#use o$ our procurement system! Indeed, given the $act
that procurement o$ goods and services constitute a#out <' percent o$ our annual
#udget, implementation o$ e-procurement will, there$ore, save the Government
su#stantial )nancial resources!;ut more importantly, it will help to instill con)dence in
Kenyans that they are getting value $or money and hence the reason why they should
pay ta1es!
+econd, the implementation o$ e-procurement will go a long way to strengthen the
government-supplier relationship #y streamlining the procurement procedures, to
provide easy access to in$ormation and documents, to increase the num#er o$ #idders
as the #idding process gets simpli)ed, and to ensure cost savings $or the government
and all ta1payers!
"hird, let me emphasi6e that the e-procurement we are launching today is not
-another/ system! It is the -,rocure to ,ay/ module o$ the IF*I+, which is #eing
implemented in accordance with the +trategic ,lan that I mentioned earlier! "hrough
automation o$ pu#lic )nancial processes, the Integrated Financial *anagement
In$ormation +ystem has provided an interlin%ed system o$ internal controls providing
clear audit trails and identi)cation o$ the originator o$ all transactions! "his promotes
transparency o$ pu#lic )nancial transactions!
Fourth, the roll out o$ electronic procurement through the IF*I+-,rocure to ,ay/ module
introduces a new era to government procurement #y #ringing to an end manual
procurement challenges that the country has e1perienced in the past! "his will indeed,
ma%e Kenya a more attractive destination $or investment!Indeed, we ta%e great pride in
#eing the )rst 2$rican country to automate end-to-end procurement and payment
processes in a devolved government system!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
=1penditure on procurement #y the Government should as much as possi#le #ene)t
our people and in particular our youth! "o ensure our youth, women and persons living
with disa#ility indeed #ene)t $rom our procurement,I wish to reiterate my
Government5s directive that every pu#lic institution ensures compliance with the 0'>
pre$erential procurement policy to provide procurement opportunities to youth, women
and persons living with disa#ility!
I also call upon the private sector to play their part in the implementation o$ e-
procurement and providing opportunities to these groups!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me at this point also appreciate some o$ the other re$orms ?ational "reasury is
ta%ing to moderni6e our pu#lic )nancial management! :ne such re$orm ta%en recently
is the esta#lishment o$ a -"reasury +ingle 2ccount ("+2, $rom which all payments shall
#e processed in compliance with the ,u#lic Financial *anagement 2ct (&'(&!
,reviously, government ministries have managed $ragmented #an%ing arrangement
that is not consistent with the principle o$ prudent cash management!
Indeed, government-owned )nancial resources lie idle $or e1tended periods in
numerous #an% accounts held #y some spending units while the ?ational "reasury
continues to #orrow, most li%ely the same money, to provide to the spending units
ready to apply the resources!
9ith the +ingle "reasury 2ccount in place, payments to suppliers will now #e e1pedited
since the ?ational "reasury will have a #etter view o$ its overall cash position!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
@ou are aware, the ?ational "reasury has #een putting up a Government digital
payments portal that will ena#le Kenyans to ma%e payments to the Government
electronically instead o$ using cash! I am in$ormed the e1ercise is almost ready and we
will #e launching it in the coming wee%s!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2s I conclude my remar%s, I wish to emphasi6e that a %ey $unction o$ the ?ational
"reasury is to ensure that pu#lic resources are prudently utili6ed!7alue-$or-money must
there$ore always #e our priority and guiding principle!
I, there$ore, wish to register my utmost gratitude to the ?ational "reasury, not only $or
success$ully rolling out various initiatives to automate government processes, #ut more
so, $or showcasing a changing culture o$ prudence and e1cellence in managing our
pu#lic )nances!
Let me also emphasi6e that automation is not an end in itsel$! *ore importantly, it is
essential that the systems and process are up and running 2LL the time!
In this regard, I e1pect the ?ational "reasury to put in place systems and procedures to
ensure that Integrated Financial *anagement In$ormation +ystem and the government
digital payments portal are running all the time,without disruption!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me once again than% the ?ational "reasury, and especially the IF*I+ Department $or
ma%ing e-procurement a reality!
9ith those remar%s, it is now my pleasure to ofcially declare the government5s
electronic procurement and payment system ofcially launched!
*ungu awa#ari%i na awalinde ?yote!