Accounting officers trained as Uganda expands elec

________________ The Government has begun training accounting officers from 100 public entities on the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System in a major step towards digitising public procurement, enhancing transparency and improving accountability in the use of public funds. The three-day training, organised by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in partnership with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, and the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U), targets permanent secretaries, chief executive officers and heads of government institutions who are legally responsible for procurement decisions. The programme follows the successful rollout of the e-GP platform to 36 government entities and marks the next phase of Uganda's migration from paper-based procurement to a fully electronic system. Speaking during the opening of the training today (Monday), Acting Accountant General, Godfrey Ssemugooma , said accounting officers play a critical role in ensuring the reforms succeed because procurement laws place ultimate responsibility on them. "Our procurement laws place responsibility on accounting officers. They cannot effectively discharge those responsibilities without being empowered to use the Electronic Government Procurement System. This training is only the beginning as we prepare to onboard even more entities during this financial year," Ssemugooma said. He explained that once institutions join the platform, they will no longer rely on newspaper advertisements, physical bid submissions, manual evaluations or paper-based contract signing. Instead, the entire procurement cycle will be conducted electronically, reducing paperwork, shortening procurement timelines and improving efficiency.