Single-source procurement explained

What single sourcing means

The World Bank describes direct selection as approaching and negotiating with only one firm ³. It says the method may be appropriate when there is only one suitable firm or there is justification to use a preferred firm ³.

National laws treat it as an exception to open competition. Kenya's Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015 makes open tendering the preferred method and lists the cases where direct procurement may be used ⁵. A public officer who breaks those conditions commits an offence under section 103(3) ⁵.

What the UNCITRAL Model Law says

UNCITRAL adopted the Model Law on Public Procurement on 1 July 2011 ¹. It replaced the 1994 Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services and is meant to help states draft procurement laws ¹.

Article 28(1) says a procuring entity shall conduct procurement by open tendering, except as provided in articles 29 to 31 ². Article 30(5) allows single-source procurement in these exceptional circumstances ².

• The subject matter is available only from a particular supplier or contractor ².
• A catastrophic event creates an extremely urgent need ².
• Additional supplies are needed from the original supplier for standardization or compatibility ².
• Another method would not be appropriate to protect key security interests of the state ².
• A particular supplier is needed to carry out a socio-economic policy, subject to public notice and comment ².

What the World Bank Procurement Regulations say

Paragraph 6.9 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, fourth edition, lists cases where direct selection may be appropriate ³. They include extending an existing contract for similar items where no advantage could come from competition and prices are reasonable, and re-engaging a firm that completed a similar contract with the Borrower in the last 12 months ³. Other cases are very low value and low risk purchases agreed in the Procurement Plan, emergency situations, standardization, proprietary equipment from one source, and goods needed for a performance guarantee ³.

Paragraph 6.10 sets two conditions for every direct selection ³. Prices must be reasonable and consistent with market rates, and purchases must not be split into smaller contracts to avoid competition ³. The World Bank published a seventh edition of the Regulations in September 2025 ⁴. This page quotes the fourth edition text of November 2020 ³.

How national laws compare

Three East African laws list grounds close to the UNCITRAL list ^5,67.

How often it is used

This page found no official count of contracts by method across countries. Two audit reports give partial pictures ^8,9.

Uganda's procurement regulator reported 217 audits and inspections in financial year 2022/23 ⁸. It said only 49% of the procurements were subjected to open competition, a figure its chart labels as contracts by value ⁸.

In South Sudan, the Auditor General reported on 25 October 2023 that the Juba-Rumbek Road contract was procured through single sourcing, not open tendering ⁹. The report found this did not comply with section 28 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act 2018 ⁹. It said the contract value rose from US$711,125,700 to US$736,533,725 under an addendum ⁹. The published statement contains no response from the Ministry of Roads and Bridges ⁹.

Common safeguards

• Kenya requires a tender document, an ad hoc evaluation committee to negotiate, the required approvals and a signed written contract ⁵.
• Uganda requires the Procurement and Disposal Unit to submit a direct procurement to the Contracts Committee, and the bid must be in writing ⁷.
• Uganda caps additional purchases from an existing supplier at 15% of the original contract value, or 25% in total over several uses ⁷.
• The World Bank bars splitting purchases to avoid competition ³.