As part of the widespread digitization campaign sweeping the public sector, the federal government will conduct all property disposals electronically in two months. The Ethiopian Procurement & Property Authority (EPPA), which conducted 325 billion birr worth of purchases last year, announced the pending changes last week.
While mandatory use of the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) platform has reached nearly 100 percent over the past few years under the Finance Ministry’s stewardship, the strict implementation for disposals is a new development.
Tadesse Kebede, e–GP project manager, expects the system to bring about transparency, improved efficiency, and a transparent exchange of information. He says the overall aim of the project is to streamline the interaction that businesses have when handling government goods, services, and work.
“It will also include unique features for handling complaints,” Tadesse told Shega. A directive approved by the Finance Ministry three years ago laid out the overall framework and set up the regulatory scaffolding for the emergence of an electronic procurement system.
The e–GP system was developed by local company Perago Information a few years back while the initial pilot program was launched in 2021 across nine government agencies. Tadesse believes the involvement of a local company helped tailor the system to the particular needs of Ethiopia and, consequently, its procurement process.
The system allows suppliers to register via email and provides them with a portal that updates them on active tenders, required legal documents, and access to registration forms. Currently, there are over 19,000 registered suppliers, with more than 150 active tenders accessible to any user with user ID and password.
“Transparency creates a reliable procurement process,” Tadesse says.
Tadesse underscored the importance of allowing easy access to all the necessary information to strengthen the integrity of the system. EPPA handles procurements for 169 federal public offices, including 64 branches across four regional states.
“All regions will use eGP in the next four years,” the manager foreshadowed.
The World Bank defines e–GP as the use of technology (especially the Internet) by governments in conducting their procurement activities with suppliers for the acquisition of works, goods, and consultancy services required by the public sector.
Reduced transaction time, increased standardization, a wider supplier base, and increased trust in government are a few of the benefits of the adoption of e–GP tools.
e–GP, electronic payments, and the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) for public budget management are the key digitization projects spearheaded by the Ethiopian government.
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