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Govt. plugs $145M into national e-procurement system
(Kaieteur News) – The Government of Guyana has set aside $145.2 million in the 2026 national budget to advance the rollout of a fully integrated e-procurement system through the National Procurement and Tender Board Administration (NPTAB).
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, made the announcement on Monday while presenting the budget in the National Assembly, noting that significant progress has already been made in modernising the country’s procurement framework.
“In 2025, achievements included digitising records, sensitising and facilitating bidders’ registration and increasing the number of virtual tender openings thereby further enhancing transparency. These initiatives were alongside efforts to strengthen stakeholder engagement, and a review of the Procurement Act to support the transition toward digital bid submissions,” the minister said.
Continuing to support NPTAB’s strengthening, Minister Singh announced that in 2026, the sum of $145.2 million is budgeted towards this. Notably he detailed that, “This will help advance e-procurement integration by establishing a dedicated website to publish all government bids in addition to posting procurement opportunities on ministerial, regional and agency notice boards to promote wider public awareness, fairness, and to ensure equal opportunity for all bidders. Further, using the Bidders Registry, NPTAB will pre-qualify and classify all bidders making it easier to identify eligible bidders for specific tenders by region and scope. Our live broadcast of tender openings will now be accessible via a link or QR code and the minutes will be accessible via the NPTAB’s official website.”
Additionally, he noted that in collaboration with the Public Procurement Commission, NPTAB will widen training and capacity building initiatives for all procurement personnel through in-field training workshops and specialised training programmes.
He revealed that special focus will be placed on training first-time bidders and micro and small-scale contractors, to broaden competition, foster inclusivity and expand the eligibility of potential suppliers.
As reported in the media, President Irfaan Ali in his inaugural speech in September 2025 announced the procurement system will be modernised and strengthened with a tiered system to promote wider participation and ensure accountability and transparency.
Kaieteur News reported in October 2025 that the government is set to sharply reduce advertising in newspapers as it prepares to launch a new national procurement website next year (2026), saying that “the days of people having to buy a newspaper to check for tender ads will soon be over.” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo made the announcement at his weekly news conference at the time during which he said that the new digital platform will replace the long-standing system of publishing tender notices primarily in newspapers- a practice he said currently costs the state close to $800M annually.
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