Digital procurement system to be fully rolled out by year-end – Pres. Ali

Contractors, suppliers and consultants doing business with the state will soon operate under a single digital procurement system, with the government targeting full completion before the end of 2026.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali, addressing a press conference on Tuesday, said the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board’s e-procurement system will integrate three components, including digital bills register, an e-tender lifecycle module, and an e-marketplace.

“I’m pleased to tell you that the Finance Secretary, is leading the effort to have, before the end of this year completed, the e-procurement system fully completed and integrated,” President Ali told reporters.

The digital bills register will expand NPTAB’s existing register to capture beneficial ownership, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) compliance status, contractor classification by size, past performance, and any debarments or suspensions for every contractor, supplier and consultant.

The e-tender lifecycle module will digitise the full tender process end-to-end, from procurement planning and tender creation through bid submission, evaluation, contract award, administration, variation and payment processing, while preserving existing statutory approval requirements.

President Ali said the module will automate routine checks, flag compliance risks, support evaluation teams with structured scoring tools, detect anomalies, and generate oversight dashboards for management.

The e-marketplace will function as a catalogue-based platform for routine low-to-medium value goods and standard services, allowing agencies to procure from pre-qualified suppliers at published prices through electronic purchase orders.

The president said the government is targeting 25-30 per cent of procurement set aside for small and medium-sized enterprises, in line with practices utilised internationally. “This will remove all of the need for the massive paper and move from a paper-based system to a complete e-system, electronic system that is trackable throughout the process,” he underscored.