The World Bank has recommended that Namibia introduce an end-to-end e-government procurement (e-GP) system to enhance transparency.
The World Bank’s procurement expert, Devesh Mishra, said while the current e-procurement system is good, it is insufficient.
“The existing e-procurement portal is commendable but it is only used by a few public entities (less than 5%),” said Mishra.
He was speaking during the launch of the Namibia Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems on Thursday in Windhoek.
Mishra said the introduction of the e-GP will lead to substantial savings for the government and therefore better service delivery.
“The absence of an end-to-end e-GP system is a missed opportunity for enhancing transparency and generating substantial savings and revenue to sustain the public procurement system,” said Mishra.
An e-GP system is a complete online platform that manages the entire government buying process, from planning to payment.
This involves the online submission of bids, the electronic evaluation process and the awarding of contracts.
