The High Court has issued temporary orders halting the government’s directive requiring all public entities to exclusively use the Electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP) in tendering processes.
In his ruling on Monday, September 8, Justice Bahati Mwamuye suspended the implementation of a circular by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning together with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which had made the use of e-GP mandatory.
"A conservatory order be and is hereby issued staying the decision of the Cabinet Secretary - National Treasury & Economic Planning and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's Circular No. E04/2025 which required the mandatory use of the Electronic Government Procurement System [e-GPS] by all Public Procurement Entities," the ruling read.
Mwamuye further directed that procurement processes remain open to both electronic and manual submissions.
"A conservatory order be and is hereby issued requiring that all Public Procurement Entities shall comply with Section 77(1) of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act in that submission of tender documents shall be in writing and in either electronic or manual form; and such submissions shall comply with the other requirements of Section 77 generally and subsection (1) in particular," the ruling added.
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Additionally, Mwamuye directed that both modes of submission be treated equally provided they meet the criteria set out in the Public Procurement and Disposal Act.
"A conservatory order be and is hereby issued requiring the Cabinet Secretary - National Treasury & Economic Planning AND the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's to accept both electronic and manual submissions of tender documents and to process the same equally irrespective of their form of submission and provided that they meet the criteria set out in Section 77 of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act," the ruling further read.
Mwamuye ruled that the suspension is temporary and will remain in force until Wednesday, October 15, unless extended by the court.
"The Conservatory Orders under (1), (2), and (3) above shall lapse at end of day on 15/10/2025 unless otherwise extended," the ruling added.
As such, the petitioners have been ordered to immediately serve the respondents and the interested party with the court papers and the ruling.
"The Petitioners shall serve the Respondents and the Interested Party with the Application, Petition, and this Court Order immediately, and file an Affidavit(s) of Service in that regard by close of business 09/09/2025. The 5th Petitioner shall also take the necessary steps to bring this Court Order to the attention of the wider public.
"Responses to both the Application and the Petition shall be filed and served by close of business 26/09/2025. Rejoinder, if need be, to be filed and served by close of business 03/10/2025. Skeleton Written Submissions limited to six (6) pages, font 12, 1.5 spacing, shall be filed and served by close of business 09/10/2025," the ruling concluded.
The matter will proceed to hearing virtually on Tuesday, October 14, at 10:30 AM.
This new development comes barely two weeks after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi directed all state departments to fully adopt the new e-procurement system, warning that no procurement will proceed unless compliance is achieved.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, August 28, Mbadi said all departments have until next week to transition to the digital platform.
"For clarity, no procurement can be done before the budget is uploaded into the system. By next week all state departments must be in the system so that the procurement process can commence," he stated.
Mbadi explained that the new platform is designed to enhance transparency and accountability in government spending by covering the entire procurement cycle.
"This new e-procurement system is end to end; it starts from budgeting to the payment stage. In the current system, once the national budget is uploaded on IFMIS, the rest of the procurement is manual. The new system will help curb issues that arise during awarding of tenders," he remarked.
Mbadi further highlighted the security features built into the digital framework, saying they will make it impossible to alter documents once uploaded.
"All the information that will be required for the tender will be uploaded to the system. The way the system is designed, it is designed in such a way that you cannot delete a document, you cannot amend.
"If you go through the system and it reaches a point and you have made mistakes, you will have to reject the whole transaction and start a fresh. Those are the security features we are putting here. That is why many people are finding it discomforting," he further said.
