The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), together with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, is accelerating Uganda’s transition to digital procurement through the rollout of the Electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP 2.0).
The latest step involved a three-day training for officials from major public institutions in Kabale Municipality, aimed at equipping them with practical skills needed to shift from traditional manual procurement processes to the new electronic platform.
The training was held at the MTN Spark Hub at Kabale University and brought together heads of departments from Kabale District Local Government, Kabale University, Kabale Regional Referral Hospital and Kabale Municipal Council.
Bravo Bagyenzi, a Senior Officer in PPDA’s Procurement and Disposal Capacity Building Department, said involving different stakeholders was critical to ensuring that institutions successfully adopt the new system.
Participants were taken through key functions of e-GP 2.0, including preparing and embedding procurement plans, initiating procurement procedures and electronically transmitting requisitions from user departments to accounting officers.
Bagyenzi said the practical nature of the training would also enable participants to transfer the knowledge acquired to other staff within their respective institutions, helping to widen adoption across government entities.
He explained that e-GP 2.0 is currently undergoing testing, with full implementation expected following an official announcement by the Ministry of Finance. He urged public institutions to embrace digitisation, saying there was no alternative to modernising government systems.
The new platform is also expected to make public procurement more accessible to suppliers by allowing them to register electronically, view tender opportunities and receive invitations to participate, while increasing opportunities for youth, women and persons with disabilities. Kabale University’s Dr Jack Rugasira and Kabale Municipal Council’s Pamela Katushabe said the system could strengthen controls, reduce delays, improve competition and enhance transparency and accountability in public procurement.
