ESPPRA COMMITS TO ROLLING OUT E-PROCUREMENT

EZULWINI – Despite delays, ESPPRA has reiterated its commitment to the roll out of the electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP).

The system is meant to enhance transparency, accountability and governance in public procurement within various procuring entities (PEs). Yesterday, the Eswatini Public Procurement Agency (ESPPRA) engaged the different procuring entities to capacitate them on the recently launched market price reference catalogue (MPRC) for common use goods. The meeting was held at SibaneSami Hotel yesterday morning. When making his presentation, ESPPRA Senior Compliance Officer Veli Ngwenya, highlighted that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Government of Eswatini and the Republic of Rwanda to collaborate on the development and customisation of two digital systems: An Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and an electronic Government Procurement System (eGP). Ngwenya stated that a contract to mark the commencement of the project was supposed to be signed in January this year but they encountered some delays.

Committed

He said nonetheless, government was committed to this project and it shall come to light soon. The e-GP is the use of information and communications technology (especially the internet) by government in conducting procurement transactions with suppliers for the acquisition of goods, works and consultancy services required by the public sector.E-Procurement involves electronic data transfers to support operational, tactical and strategic procurements. E-Procurement has been around for much longer than the term itself which first came into use after the establishment of the internet in the 1990s.

Tasks

E-procurement eliminates the need to manually carry out laborious, procurement-related tasks such as supplier registration, tendering and contract management. The process works by connecting various entities and processes through a centralised platform. The Electronic Government Procurement System provides some of the following benefits to government, PEs, suppliers, ESPPRA and civil society organisations:

1.     Greater transparency and accountability through the automated publication and submission of tenders and contract awards;
2.     Increased promotion of domestic businesses;
3.     Improved accessibility to procurement information and tendering opportunities;
4.     Improved public governance and ease of doing business;
5.     Reduced fraudulent spending.

E-GP facilitates higher quality outcomes for public procurement through improved accessibility and transparency and economic development.The main reason governments have embraced e-procurement is to improve service delivery, increase productivity, provide visibility into day-today transactions and make it easier for users to get the supplies that they need promptly.

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