(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s On-Line E-procurement System (Coleps) is still much shunned by most public administrations in their procurement procedures. In 2021, just 48% of the overall public orders that year were processed through the system launched in 2019, revealed Ibrahim Talba Malla, Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Public Contracts, during the February 24, 2022, Ministerial council held in Yaoundé.
“It appears that the low rate of contracts processed by electronic means (…) is due to various technical constraints as well as actors’ resistance to change because they think electronic procedures are complex,” he said.
He then made suggestions to encourage the adoption of that digital system. For the government official, the focus must be placed on sensitizing and training administrative officials and economic operators. In addition, he indicated, relevant administrative units must be equipped with the necessary logistics for the use of the Coleps system.
The development of that E-procurement platform was funded by South Korea, to the tune of XAF3 billion. The platform was developed to help reduce corruption in Cameroon’s public sector procurement by ending physical contacts that usually facilitate corruption. In its report presented in late 2018, the National Anti-corruption Commission (CONAC) ranked the Ministry of Public Works as one of the most corrupt administrations in the country.
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