Most public procurement entities including government ministries, county governments and parastatals have failed to meet the 30 per cent procurement threshold set aside for the youth, women and people with disabilities (PWD).
Maurice Juma, Director General of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) on Tuesday told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunities that during the second half of the financial year between January and June, only 94 public procurement entities submitted their reports.
Youth received the highest of the contracts, 1,313 valued at Sh620.33 million, the second were women who got 1,304 contracts worth Sh591.42 million and PWD received 219 contracts with a value of Sh166.77 million only.
The other 78 contracts valued at Sh57.77 million were not accounted for.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier warned that procurement officers in various government agencies who fail to enforce the AGPO law will loose their jobs.
“The AGPO is now law, not a question of policy. It is not a question of ‘I will if I want’. It must happen since it is the law. I challenge you that once this report comes out, especially those who are in procurement, I promise you now you will not be able to hide. You will leave and you will create opportunity for those who are willing to abide by the law,” he said via K24.
The committee members were amused by the failure to file reports, and gave the procurement agencies only three weeks to comply.
“We are worried with the laxity and disinterest with which public procurement entities are treating this issue,” said committee chairman Johnson Sakaja.