Dematerialising Public Contracts Procedures : Merits Of E-Procurement System

For some time now, the government of Cameroon, through the Ministry of Public Contracts (MINMAP), has been fully drawn to dematerialise public contracts procedures in the country The e-procurement project, as the innovation is known, aims at modernising this sensitive sector of national life by transforming it through the state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technologies for greater efficiency and strengthen governance in the public contracts ecosystem.
The dematerialisation of public contracts is based on a digital platform called COLEPS (Cameroon Online E-Procurement System) which handles every detail from start to finish. In fact, the whole public contracts process is conducted over this platform, from the publication of tender notices to the monitoring of the execution of contracts, including the online submission of bids. A 27 December 2024 Ministerial Order setting the schedule for the migration to the exclusive award of public contracts electronically, is being gradually imposed to all public contract actors and stakeholders from the current financial year (2025) to become compulsory as from 2027 financial year, Regional and Local Authorities (RLAs) inclusive.  
Just recently, the Prime Minister Head of Government reiterated the esteemed directives of the President of the Republic Paul Biya, notably: generalising the COLEPS platform to all actors of the public contracts system; rationalising the mechanism for handling petitions and applications for the lifting of suspension, and providing both mid-term as well as end-of-year reports on the measures taken to give effect to these directives, which help implement the Vision of the President of the Republic. The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Public Contracts, authority in charge of Public Contracts in the country, throws more light on the path covered with this innovation and what the country stands to gain.  

Mr Minister, the dematerialisation of public contracts has been making news in Cameroon for sometimes now. Can you edify the public on what the innovation is all about? 
Before I answer, permit me to express my sincere thanks to the President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya, for giving me the opportunity to be his personal representative during the ceremony of the launching of the second version of COLEPS at the Hilton Hotel on the 25th of June 2025. And now to answer your question, dematerialisation of public contracts procedures means that all procedures that used to be carried out using papers and moving from one office to another are now being done using computers and on the Internet via COLEPS as the Single Window (in French, Guichet Unique).  This simply means lesser movements, lesser use of papers, faster and easier access to information for every user from any location around the world at any given time. Everyone can access information on public contracts on the COLEPS platform without traveling or visiting government offices.

Mr. Minister, what is COLEPS and how does it operate? 
COLEPS, is an electronic system that can be accessed from any location around the world through the Internet at the address www.publiccontracts.cm or www.marchespublics.cm and is available 24/24 hours and seven days a week. This means that everyone who is interested can have access to information on public contracts via COLEPS. To use the system, a computer system with an Internet connection and an electronic certificate to secure your transactions required.

We understand that the use of the COLEPS platform is subject to electric power and Internet. Considering the numerous power and Internet cuts in our country, what have you envisaged to address this situation in order to guarantee the proper use of the COLEPS platform by the users?  
As I indicated before, COLEPS can be accessed from any location around the world through the Internet at the address www.publiccontracts.cm  or www.marchespublics.cm and is available 24/24 hours and seven days a week. This means that we have taken measures to make sure the system is always available. Users can also access COLEPS using laptops, tablets and smartphones. These devices can enable people to work even when there is power cuts from time to time because they have battery.  We have provided a system, considering the challenges of our environment.

Does dematerialisation not lead to the exclusion of other stakeholders, especially the Project Owners, from the public contracts award process? 
On the contrary, Project Owners and all actors, including bidders, have each their personal space to work in a secured manner without the interference of the Minister in charge of Public Contracts or any of our collaborators from the Ministry of Public Contracts. Moreover, COLEPS enables all actors including Cameroonians in the diaspora to participate in the inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development of our country through public contracts, thus strengthening the living together policy so much advocated by the President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya.

Mr Minister, does this innovation not limit the powers of other stakeholders, leaving your Ministerial department, the Ministry of Public Contracts, as the only master of the game? 
Not at all. The Public Contracts Code defines the role of every stakeholder and actor of the sector. COLEPS has not come to change the contracts code, so it has provided every user with their own specific workspace. The Ministry of Public Contracts is now in charge of control of the award and execution of public contracts to make sure better value for money is achieved and contractual clauses are respected by all the parties. Project Owners have each an appropriate space in COLEPS, to work in a secured manner. 

What becomes of the other categories of stakeholders like the Public Contracts Regulatory Agency (ARMP) for example, in the public contracts award chain?  What is their area of jurisdiction?
Their ...