April 15, 2021 Procurement systems need to be digitized to minimize human contact and interventions which create opportunities for corruption and other malpractices, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has said.

Minister Uzziel was addressing the 13^th East African Procurement Forum, which convened in Kigali to discuss public procurement issues and share experiences of COVID-19 pandemic on the industry as whole.

He noted that public procurement plays a central role in good governance by ensuring transparency, integrity, economy, openness, fairness, competition and accountability, which are the core values of procurement and governance systems. Therefore, modernizing public procurement only reinforces these values.

“We are managing COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. This means we are responding to emergencies which require flexibility in our procurement procedures, but without compromising the core principles public procurement,” Minister Ndagijimana told delegates.

Held under the theme “Strengthening Integrity and Accountability in Public Procurement for an effective emergency response”, the two-day event brings together public procurement industry experts, suppliers and bidders, government officials, and other stakeholders to discuss public procurement issues and to come up with tangible resolutions impacting legal and regulatory framework of public procurement. The forum provides participants with an opportunity to share experiences and challenges with the aim of improving country procurement systems