The Republic of the Congo is actively reforming public procurement management through the establishment of the dematerialized system of public procurement procedures (e-GP)

In order to establish the dematerialized system of public procurement procedures (e-GP) in the Republic of the Congo, a consultant, Mr. Richard, was recruited and prepared the draft bidding document (DAO) relating thereto.

This draft DAO was presented at the workshop organized on 4 and 5 June 2026 at the headquarters of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of the Central African Region (ACERAC) in Brazzaville. Under the coordination of PAGIR, this workshop was attended by representatives of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP), the General Directorate for Public Procurement Control (DGCMP), the General Delegation for Major Works, the World Bank Public Procurement Coordinator for Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo and Gabon, the Permanent Secretariat for Public Finance Reforms (SPRFP), the Reform and Governance Monitoring Unit (CSRG), and the public administration.

At the end of this workshop, a commission was established by service note No. 0044/MFBPP/SPRFP/PRAR of 09 June 2026. Placed under the joint supervision of the Permanent Secretary for Public Finance Reforms, the Acting Director General of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP), the Director General of Public Procurement Control (DGCMP), and the Coordinator of the UCP PAGIR, this commission, composed of representatives of ARMP, DGCMP, the Governance Reform Monitoring Unit (CSRG), the General Delegation for Major Works and the public administration, worked from 13 to 22 June 2026 at the Grand Hôtel de Kintélé.

The outcome of the commission’s work was finalized in the final version of the DAO, fully adapted to the public procurement procedures of the Republic of the Congo and ready to be used for launching the recruitment procedure for the firm responsible for developing and deploying the dematerialized system of public procurement procedures (e-GP) in the Republic of the Congo.

The final consolidated version was presented at the workshop organized on 21 and 22 July at ACERAC in Brazzaville. On the first day, the purpose was to examine the three constituent parts of the draft bidding document, namely (i) the procurement procedures part, (ii) the technical requirements of the solution to be developed, and (iii) the contract part, before the exchange with the consultant, Mr. Richard, who had prepared the said draft.

On the second day, the work consisted of presenting to the consultant the final version of the draft DAO adapted to national regulations. Fruitful and productive discussions took place with the Consultant, particularly on the three (3) above-mentioned parts of the draft DAO, at the end of which it was adopted in the presence of all stakeholders.

It should also be noted that on the last day of the workshop, consultant MAX, who had also been recruited by the World Bank to review the specifications relating to the establishment of the dematerialized system of public procurement procedures (e-GP) in the Republic of the Congo, joined the stakeholders.

After these rich and productive discussions, the draft DAO was adopted. All that remains is its transmission to the Steering Committee (COPIL) for final validation, so that it may be transmitted to the Strategic Orientation Committee (COS) for the appropriate follow-up for the continuation of the procedure.

It should be recalled, in fact, that the dematerialization of public procurement procedures constitutes a structural reform that will help strengthen the transparency and integrity of procedures, improve the traceability of operations, reduce processing times, facilitate economic operators’ access to public procurement, improve data quality and performance management, and strengthen the confidence of citizens, businesses and technical and financial partners in the national public procurement system.

The workshop’s work made it possible to substantially improve the quality of the initial Bidding Document through a participatory approach combining professional and technical expertise.

The consolidated and validated version resulting from this workshop constitutes a major step towards the effective implementation of the dematerialization of public procurement procedures in the Republic of the Congo.

Claver NGAMBOU MBON,

Head of the Technical Support Service