Kirinyaga County Government emerges top in Supply Chain Management

The County Government of Kirinyaga is the winner of the prestigious Kenya Institute of Supply Management SPURS SCM Excellence Awards 2023.

The award seeks to recognize and reward organizations that demonstrate supply chain practices that result in value for money and comply with the laid down regulatory frameworks. They aim at motivating Supply Chain professionals to embrace integrity and excellence in performing their functions.

The awarding ceremony that was held in Nairobi on Friday was attended supply chain professionals from various organizations.

In appreciating the award, Governor Anne Waiguru said the award was well deserved as the county government has been implementing robust measures to ensure cost optimization in procurement as well as strict adherence to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) 2012 and the Public Finance Management and Accountability Regulations (PFMAR) 2015 among other laid down regulations. She said that her administration has also developed Key performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure its financial performance.

She noted that some of the measures that the county has taken to optimize cost include meeting budgetary limits which means the county’s expenses operate efficiently and effectively within the constraints of its resources.  The county has also improved on efficiency through automation of systems such as in projects, hospital and revenue management.

She also noted that the procurement department has been conducting periodic review of the budget to compare actual income and expenses against the budget amounts which is actualized through preparation of supplementary budgets.

Other strategies that the county has been implementing is prioritizing expenditures so that spending is only done on critical activities that directly contribute to the county government’s goals. The county has also been allocating resources based on based on performance and return on investments while at the same time exploring competitive negotiation with vendors and consolidating purchasing to leverage buying power and reduce costs.

Waiguru added that in order to ensure the county gets value for its money, they ensure that market survey is conducted so that goods are purchased within the prevailing market rates.

She pointed out that due to such measures, the county government procurement entity has greatly improved in terms of transparency, visibility, budget absorption, improved buyer supplier relationship, timely payment and reduced the number of pending bills in the county.

She said that even with the win, the county is committed to continuous improvement of its supply chain management to ensure that Kirinyaga residents always get value for their taxes.