Manyora wants procurement department done away with

By Peter Ochieng

Political analyst Herman Manyora is suggesting a paradigm shift in matters to do with government procurement in this country.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) don wants the procument department to be done away with, and be replaced with a direct procurement system.

He says trying to reform the current system in the country will in the long run, prove to be an action in futility.

"You cannot reform the government procurement department in this country. Just do away with it. Let’s build a direct procurement system where the user buys or sources what they need without going through the current thieving procurement bureaucracy," he wrote on X.

He was reacting to a directive by Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, demanding that Heads of procurement in all government departments resist and fight corrupt practices bedeviling their offices at all cost.

Nairobi Review reported that Koskei observed that procurement sections in the public offices had dented the reputation of the government for abetting graft, taking of bribes and handouts in exchange for services or favours casting doubt about the integrity of civil servants before the eyes of the public.

"Their actions have dented the government’s reputation, casting doubt on the integrity, fidelity and propriety of any procurement outcome,” he said.

"The scale and nature of the procurement irregularities paint a sad picture. There is limited transparency, breach of prescribed regulations, poor or ineffective due diligence, and an obvious contractor-driven supply logic," he added.

He said despite Kenya’s robust legislative framework and institutional architecture in place to regulate procurement in the country, the cartels were perpetuating their evil scheme with impunity.

“It can only be the 'mali ya umma (public property)' attitude of our procurement and user department officials, or worse still, their active connivance in perpetuating it in pursuit of ill-gotten gains."

He spoke in Mombasa over the weekend.