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Bomet senator: e-procurment will stop governors from giving their girlfriends contracts
02nd September, 2025 08:50 AM
Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei has revealed that e-procurement will stop governors from giving their girlfriends and boyfriends contracts as opposed to deserving businesses and contractors.
While backing up the e-procurement system, he said that the electronic procurement platform will help eliminate underhanded deals, where governors allegedly award lucrative tenders to close associates, including romantic partners, instead of qualified contractors.
Hillary made his remarks on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, during an interview with a local media house, where he strongly backed up the government’s new move to ensure all government entities are enrolled in the e-procurement system.
“This process will ensure fairness and transparency and stop governors from giving their girlfriends and boyfriends contracts as opposed to deserving contractors,” Sigei said.
The senator argues that the digital system will make it harder for county bosses to influence tender awards, as all submissions will be visible, trackable, and auditable in real time.
Governors clash with Treasury
Bomet’s senator’s remarks follow a deepened clash between the Council of Governors (CoG) and the National Treasury after the governors rejected the directive by the government requiring all government agencies to migrate to the new electronic procurement platform.
Following a special council meeting held on Monday, September 1, 2025, in Nairobi, the governors accused the Treasury of rushing the rollout of the system, which they described as “defective” and ill-prepared to handle county operations.
The governors, led by Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif Abdullahi, a member of the CoG executive, vowed that they will not be “intimidated or compelled” into adopting the platform until key technical challenges are addressed.
“We call on the National Treasury to immediately withdraw the circular directing counties to implement e-GP until proper consultation is done,” the CoG chairperson stated after the meeting.
Likewise, the governors warned that forcing counties to transition prematurely could disrupt service delivery, noting that only three out of 47 counties participated in the pilot phase and all reported major failures.
Governor Mohamed Khalif Abdullahi bluntly called on the Treasury CS, John Mbadi, to hold on with the e-procurement and not push it to the county governments.
“If it is not working, it is not working. Don’t push it down our throats,” Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif Abdullahi stated.
On his part, the Nyeri Governor, Mutahi Kahiga, added, “As counties, we have no issue with e-procurement, but we cannot be forced to use a system that is clearly dysfunctional.”
