President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced an ambitious year-end target for the complete digitalisation of Guyana’s public procurement system, promising greater transparency, easier public scrutiny and expanded opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.
Ali said the finance secretary is leading implementation of the e-procurement system, which will replace much of the existing paper-based process with an integrated, trackable electronic platform.
The system will include a digital bidders register, national e-tender portal, end-to-end tender lifecycle module and electronic marketplace.
Contractor information will include beneficial ownership, Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme compliance, classification, previous performance, suspensions and debarments.
The e-tender system will cover procurement planning, tender creation and publication, bid submission, evaluation, contract awards, administration, variations, payments and real-time tracking.
It will also automate routine compliance checks, identify potential risks and anomalies and provide structured scoring and management dashboards.
Ali said the increased transparency would allow the public to see not simply who receives government contracts but also information such as contractors’ existing workloads and performance.
The president said implementation could necessitate amendments to procurement legislation and indicated that the government is prepared to review whether existing stakeholder representation within the procurement structure remains adequate as Guyana’s development programme expands.
The administration is also considering reserving approximately 25% to 30% of procurement opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Ali said the reforms are intended to deliver a modern system in which procurement can be tracked from tendering through contract award and implementation.