KATHMANDU: Ujjaya Nepal Party Chairman Kulman Ghising has expressed strong objection to the government’s decision to discontinue the electronic procurement system (e-GP) and revert to paper-based processes.
In a statement shared on social media, Ghising warned that the move risks reviving past irregularities in public procurement.
Ghising termed the indefinite closure of the e-GP system-ostensibly due to cyber security risks-as both serious and objectionable. He stated, ‘Let’s immediately bring e-GP into operation safely and make the public procurement process clean, fair, and credible.’
He emphasized the need for technical upgrades, security testing, system backups, and emergency recovery protocols to secure the platform against long-term cyber threats.
The government’s decision comes at a critical time for budget implementation and the initiation of new contracts during the months of Bhadra, Asoj, and Kartik. Ghising noted that this would negatively impact hundreds of development and procurement projects across federal, provincial, and local levels.
He warned that reverting to paper processes would complicate bidding, proposal evaluation, and deadline management, potentially fostering collusion, unhealthy competition, and intimidation.
Ghising argued that shutting down the system is not a viable solution to technical challenges. ‘There may be problems with the digital system, but the solution cannot be to simply shut down the system,’ he said.
Highlighting that thousands of contractors, suppliers, and consultants are currently affected by the disruption, he urged the state to prioritize identifying and resolving security risks to restore safe operations.
He concluded that a government committed to good governance should not allow the transparency and competitiveness of the public procurement sector to be undermined by a return to opaque paper-based methods.
