Implementation of the government electronic procurement system in the county of Mombasa, Kenya
Abstract
Over the years, procurement process has continued to evolve in both private and public
sector. The traditional manual procurement process has recently received a facelift to
electronic procurement process courtesy of the advancement in Information
Communications Technology (ICT) that has been able to provide an electronic interphase
in procurement processes. As part of the Government’s initiative to reform the Public
Finance Management (PFM) system and restore the public confidence in the use of
public funds, the government of Kenya introduced an Integrated Financial Management
Information System (IFMIS), e-procurement module that would enhance efficiency in
planning, budgeting, procurement, expenditure management and reporting in the National
and County Governments. The business case for implementing the e-procurement system
has been said to include; the envisaged improvement in transparency, accountability,
traceability of all transactions, prevention of corruption and fraud, provision of audit trail,
reduced procurement time and enhanced value for money among others. This study was
geared towards establishing the factors necessary for implementation of e-procurement in
Mombasa County, the level of readiness of the County Government procurement to adopt
the e-procurement system and the perceived level of improved efficiency upon
implementation of such an initiative. The result from the research identified a number of
infrastructural supports that the management has made to ensure successful
implementation of the system. There has been tremendous progress on capacity building
through equipping the procurement staff with knowledge, skills and tools necessary to
adopt and implement the e-procurement system in order to reap its benefits fully upon
implementation. The study nonetheless, established some gaps that may jeopardize the
implementation process of the new system. It therefore recommended a need to have a
project management team to spearhead system implementation. Further, all stakeholders
need to be involved in implementation especially the suppliers who would eventually be
directly affected by the new system in one way or the other. Since public procurement is
governed by an Act of parliament, e-procurement processes need to be legislated as well.
There should be an e-procurement manual/guide and other procurement documents in
electronic form for reference. The study also recommends allocation of adequate funds
for infrastructure and capacity building purposes for the successful implementation of the
e-procurement. To this end, the County will be able to reap fully the benefits of the
Government’s e-procurement initiative.
Publisher
University of Nairobi