Education CS Julius Ogamba. /EDUMIN/XThe Ministry of Education is set to conduct a comprehensive audit of all institutions under its jurisdiction to verify compliance with the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) policy.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, while acknowledging existing implementation challenges, stated that there was a need for all institutions to fully comply with the legal mandate.
The initiative, he noted, is crucial to promoting inclusivity and ensuring equitable access to government procurement opportunities.
“We shall be issuing a circular to audit all our institutions to confirm compliance,” said the CS.
Speaking Monday during the official launch of the Inuka scholarship programme, Ogamba reaffirmed his ministry’s commitment to ensuring full adherence to the AGPO regulations.
The Inuka scholarship is an initiative of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Foundation started in 2017.
It has so far benefitted 745 students who are bright and disadvantaged.
AGPO is an affirmative action programme anchored in Articles 227 and 55 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act of 2015.
It stipulates that 30 per cent of all government procurement opportunities are set aside for enterprises owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
Ogamba, however, said despite the existence of this law, meeting the 30 per cent allocation has been difficult due to a range of systemic issues.
He called for legislative reforms to enable the full realisation of AGPO's objectives.
“If we don’t give people with disabilities the financial capacity to implement awarded projects, the purpose of AGPO will be defeated,” he said.
Ogamba proposed amending the Law of Contract Act to ensure prompt payments.
"We need to change the law of contract Act to stipulate that if a person with disability gets a contract, once the contract is performed, payments should be made within 45 days so that we remove debts from being part and parcel of the pending bills programme," he explained
