Kenya is set to host the 11th annual East Africa Procurement Forum (EAPF) at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi from 28 to 30 November 2018, with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich expected to open the three-day meeting.
In a statement published on 21 November 2018, organizers said the forum will run under the theme “Strengthening Integrity and Accountability in Public Procurement.” The gathering is expected to draw about 300 participants from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, including representatives from the public and private sectors, professional bodies, civil society and training institutions.
The forum’s agenda is centered on the modernization of public procurement systems across East Africa. Delegates are expected to examine the main challenges facing procurement reforms, while also building a common regional position on the role of public procurement in good governance, professional standards and legal reform.
According to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the discussions will also focus on sustaining reforms through a shared strategic framework that emphasizes integrity, accountability, transparency and efficiency. One of the main tools under review is the wider adoption of e-procurement systems, which organizers say can help curb corruption and improve oversight.
PPRA Director General Maurice Juma said the forum is meant to give stakeholders a platform to deliberate on ways of strengthening national procurement systems within the East African Community (EAC). He said delegates will push for greater use of information technology in efforts to address corruption.
“The identified theme and topics for discussion reflect the current reforms, trends and developments in the public procurement systems within the EAC region and globally. The forum is expected to come up with resolutions to be implemented by partner states to strengthen integrity and accountability in national procurement systems within the EAC region,” Juma asserted.
The EAPF has been held since 2008 and is convened on a rotational basis by public procurement regulatory institutions in EAC partner states. Kenya, through the PPRA, is hosting it for the third time after previous editions in 2009 and 2014.
Organizers said the forum has been supported over the years by regional blocs such as COMESA and the EAC, alongside development partners including the World Bank, the African Development Bank and GIZ. The event has also attracted participants from countries outside the EAC, including South Sudan, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
Juma said past forums have helped member states share knowledge, benchmark reforms and consider changes to national procurement laws. In Kenya, he noted, the law has been amended twice to reflect changing trends and to create more opportunities for citizens, especially youth and women.
He added that the government has already put in place structures to direct new spending toward small and medium enterprise suppliers, with the aim of widening public procurement access for SMEs. “Our ambition is that at least 30 per cent of spend on government procurement flows to SMEs directly in the supply chain as this would complement the strategy of youth and women employment in the country. It is indeed against this background that we continue to explore with the regional member states about opening the public sector up to smaller suppliers and further build their capacities”, Juma concluded.
