Keynote Address "On best Practices for Implementation of e-government initiatives in Uganda with a focus on e-procurement"

1. E-PROCUREMENT STRATEGY LAUNCH
Keynote Address ‘’On best Practices for Implementation of e-government
initiatives in Uganda with a focus on e-procurement’’
Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), 10/12/ 2014
Venue: Katonga Hall, Serena Hotel, Kampala, Uganda
Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, VC UTAMU, barya@utamu.ac.ug

2. What is E-Government?
• “E-Government is an ongoing process of
transformation of Government towards the
provision of government services (information,
transactions) through electronic means,
including access to government information and
the completion of government transactions on
an ‘anywhere, anytime’ basis.”
• PricewaterhouseCoopers

3. What is e-government ?
It is the
transformation of government
to provide
Efficient
Convenient &
Transparent
Services
to
the Citizens & Businesses
through
Information & Communication Technologies

4. What is NOT e-Government ?
e-Government is not about ‘e’
but about government !
e-Government is not about computers & websites
but about citizens & businesses!
e-Government is not about translating processes
but about transforming processes !

5. What do leading nations aim in eGov?
• Interactive Public Services
• Public Procurement
• Public Internet Access Points
• Broadband Connectivity
• Interoperability
• Culture & Tourism
• Secure G2G Communications

6. The economic benefits of E-government
• Improve efficiency
and quality
• One-stop-shop
service delivery
• Cost effectiveness
• Promote wider
adoption of e-commerce
6
Policy Objectives of E-Government

7. Road map to E-Government
Web site for information dissemination
7
Electronic submission of information
Department-based interactive services
Integrated portal site to deliver one-stop shop
services

8. The E-Government Strategy
To develop the necessary information infrastructure
To adopt proper IT management practices
Training Culture
E-government initiatives
8
Top level commitment
High level implementation mechanism

9. Limitations of the Manual Procurement System
•Delay in issue of tender schedules to Vendors
•Disadvantage for geographically spread bidders to participate
•Physical request / threats to bidders
•Risk of Tender Boxes at Multiple locations
•Delays in finalization of tenders
•Human interface at every stage leading to loss of objectivity
•Lack of Transparency

10. What is e-Procurement ?
It’s a collaborative procurement of goods,
works and services using electronic methods in
every stage for bringing in efficiency &
transparency

11. Objectives of e-Procurement
• To act as the catalyst for procurement reform
• To enhance transparency, monitoring and control in
procurement process
• To bring in economies of scale through aggregation of demand
• To reduce cost of doing business for both government and
suppliers
• To establish level playing field and “fair” competitive platform
for the suppliers

12. Components of a
typical e-Procurement System
Indent
E-Auctions
Management
E-Tendering
Contract
Management
Catalogue
based
Procurement

13. e-Procurement Scenario
e-Procurement
System
Consultants
Suppliers
Buyers
Logistics
Systems
Contractors
Payment
Systems

14. The Buy-side
Issue Approach
Complexity of Procurement
Procedures
Procurement Reforms
Wide Range of items to be
procured
-Goods
-Works
-Services
•Conduct an ABC Analysis
•Select ‘A’ items initially
Organizational Resistance Change Management
Lack of IT Skills among employees Training
Lack of resources within
Government
Public-Private-Partnership
(PPP)

15. The Sell-side
Issue Approach
Difficulties in changing over to
new systems of tendering
Supplier adoption
Low levels of technological
skills
•Training
•Help Desk
Difficulties in access to site E-Procurement help centres
Resistance to change Change Management

16. The ‘e-Procurement system’ side
Issue Approach
Difficulties in establishing &
maintaining the system
By sharing responsibility
through PPP
Lack of Financial resources for
maintenance & transaction
handling
•Designing appropriate
business model
•Levy of service charges
Concerns of
• Confidentiality of bids
•Authenticity of bids
Digital Signature Certificates
Varying requirements of
Multiple Departments
•Process Reforms
•Standards-based system

17. Major Challenge Ahead
• The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index for 175 countries and territories
by Transparency International ranked Uganda among the most
corruption countries in the world: Rwanda 55th with a score of 49%,
Tanzania 119th with a score of 31%, Uganda 142nd with a score of 26%,
Kenya 145th with a score of 25% and Burundi 159th with a score of 20%.
Rwanda was the least corrupt in EAC.
• The major corruption scandals in Uganda mainly include: corruptly
procuring tenders, diversion of public resources, bribery of public
officials and corrupt transactions with agents.
• Max of 25% variation in procurement contracts provides some room for
some officers to engage in corruption
• Uganda is still ranked low in terms of global competitiveness, i.e. the
global competitive index 2013-2014 ranked Burundi 146th, Uganda
129th, Tanzania 125th, Kenya 96th, and Rwanda 66th out of the 148
countries ranked globally.
• Government officers will do everything possible to fail e-procurement
=> Efficiency and Transparency
• Good Luck!! END