{"id":412,"date":"2020-09-08T10:17:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T07:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scale.co.ke\/blog\/?p=412"},"modified":"2021-10-19T20:03:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T17:03:13","slug":"getting-started-with-public-procurement-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scale.co.ke\/blog\/getting-started-with-public-procurement-in-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with Public Procurement in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Public and private-sector procurement account for a very sizable percentage of global economic output. Reports from Chatham House (2017)<\/a> and the World Bank (2015) show that Governments alone spend $9.5 trillion each year procuring goods and services while for developing countries, this figure stands at $820 billion annually. Despite the considerable impact that public procurement has on country\u2019s GDP, many SMEs and entrepreneurs struggle to understand the foundation of how this sector actually works. public procurement kenya<\/span><\/p>\n

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority of Kenya (PPRA) defines Public Procurement<\/em> as \u2018the purchase of commodities and contracting of works and services by the Government; utilizing state budgets, local authority budgets, state\u2019s foundation funds, domestic or foreign loans guaranteed by the state, foreign aid as well as revenue received from the economic activity of the state\u2019<\/em>. It is important to note that Public Procurement in Kenya is governed and guided by an ACT enacted by the Parliament to provide procedures for efficient public procurement and for assets disposal by public entities as envisioned in the Constitution (2010).<\/p>\n

To better understand this, we shall provide a high level review of the basic structure (based off the Act) of how the sector is organized from the following two perspectives; the procurement categories and the procurement methods.<\/p>\n

A. Definition of Procurement Categories<\/h2>\n

In Kenya, the PPRA provides a general breakdown of procurement categories into the following:<\/p>\n

1. Supply of Goods<\/span><\/h4>\n

Goods are physical products purchased or manufactured on request. Sometimes, there is an element of service involved, such as when the agreement is for the purchase of goods to be assembled or installed. However, the extent of the service provided is directly related to acceptance of the goods purchased. Typical examples of goods are: office supplies and equipment, furniture, IT equipment, books, vehicles, medical supplies and other commodities.<\/p>\n

2. Works and Construction<\/span><\/h4>\n

Works are related to civil works; this includes new construction and maintenance of structures of all kinds (buildings, roads, highways, bridges, etc), renovations, extensions, and repairs. This category can also include, water and sanitation, transportation and electrical plant infrastructure.<\/p>\n

3. Provision of Services<\/span><\/h4>\n

Services are classified as consulting services and non-consulting services. In some cases, they are simply classified as services because of the difficulty in clearly determining the difference. The distinguishing factor between the two, however, is the degree of importance of the measurable physical output of the requirement and the technicality of the services required.<\/p>\n