President Dr. Irfaan Ali says Guyana is moving to fully digitise public procurement before the end of the year, with a new e-procurement system that will track tenders from planning to payment, flag compliance risks and open more space for small and medium-sized businesses.
Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, the Head of State said the new system will include a digital bidders’ register, an e-tender lifecycle module, a national e-tender portal and an e-marketplace.
The President said the shift will remove the need for “massive paper” and move public procurement from a paper-based process to a fully electronic system that can be tracked throughout the procurement cycle.
The announcement builds on the government’s launch earlier this year of a centralised Procurement Opportunities Website, which the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board said was designed to strengthen transparency, fairness and open competition in public procurement.
The President said the existing bidder register at the Ministerial, Regional and Departmental Tender Administration Board will be expanded to capture more detailed information on contractors, suppliers and consultants. That will include beneficial ownership, GRA and NIS compliance, company classification, past performance, debarments and suspensions.
The e-tender portal will upgrade the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) website into a “single window” where procurement plans, tender notices, bidding documents, clarifications, bid submissions and award notices will be uploaded.
That would represent a further step beyond the existing eprocure.gov.gy portal, which was launched to centralise government procurement opportunities and publish invitations to tender, requests for proposals, expressions of interest and other notices issued by state agencies.
Ali said the e-tender lifecycle module will be central to the reform, noting that the current procurement process remains largely manual, paper-based and fragmented.
Under the proposed digital workflow, the system will cover procurement planning, tender creation, publication, bid submission, evaluation, contract award, contract administration, variations, payment processing and real-time tracking.
The President said the system will automate routine checks, flag compliance risks, support evaluation teams with structured scoring tools, detect anomalies and potential red flags, and generate dashboards for management oversight, while preserving the existing statutory approval system.
The planned e-marketplace will focus on routine low- to medium-value goods and standard services, allowing procurement agencies to purchase from pre-qualified suppliers using standard specifications, published prices, framework agreements and electronic purchase orders.
Ali said the system is also expected to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises, with the government examining the possibility of setting aside about 25 to 30 percent of procurement for SMEs.
