Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has dismissed claims that Parliament revoked the government’s electronic procurement system, cautioning that attempts to undermine it are being pushed by individuals with vested interests in manual tender processes.

Speaking firmly on the matter on Thursday, August 28, 2025, Mbadi said Parliament has no mandate to revoke e-Procurement and cautioned government officials against using the House as an excuse to undermine reforms.

“One of the contentions being pushed currently is that Parliament revoked e-Procurement. If any government officer intends to use that as an excuse, they should know I will not accept it. Parliament does not revoke anything,” he stated.

Procurement interests at play

Mbadi noted that resistance to the new digital system is rooted in attempts to protect corruption loopholes within manual procurement. He explained that e-Procurement was designed to eliminate manipulation of tender documents, which has been a fertile ground for graft.

“It is because people have an interest in procurement. That is the truth. They still want to go back to manual and manipulate procurement where they plug papers from tender documents, and that is what we are not going to allow,” Mbadi said.

He pointed out that the National Treasury had earlier introduced other financial reforms, including zero-based budgeting and the Treasury Single Account, through circulars without facing similar resistance. According to him, e-Procurement is no different and falls squarely within Treasury’s mandate.

Commitment to reform

Mbadi reminded MPs that he had already pledged to roll out the e-Procurement system and Parliament itself had welcomed the reform. He questioned how the same House could now appear to backtrack.

“I committed to Parliament to bring e-Procurement in government, and they congratulated me on that. How can Parliament turn around now to say e-Procurement is violating the Constitution? Where is that provision in the Constitution? There is no violation,” he insisted.

The CS made it clear that the Treasury, not Parliament, designs the accounting and procurement systems of government. He stressed that no directive had been sent to the House for revocation, terming the push to kill e-Procurement as an attempt to stall transparency.

“I was hired to bring change. Nothing has been revoked. We sent nothing to Parliament to be revoked,” Mbadi said, affirming his resolve to entrench accountability in public procurement.

With e-Procurement seen as a critical tool in sealing corruption loopholes, Mbadi’s remarks underline the brewing contest between reform and entrenched interests ahead of full implementation.