Financial Risk Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The Republic of Zambia, through the Zambia Public Procurement Authority and the
Ministry of Finance and National Planning, has put in place legal frameworks for
handling public procurement. These provisions have, with time, been reformed to
mandate prudence in the execution processes. Besides the Public Procurement
Act, reforms extend to the Integrated Financial Management Information System
(IFMIS). In light of this, however, irregularities exist in the procurement process of
goods at Provincial Administration Mongu-Western Province.Departments have
raised concerns about the inconsistent delivery lead times of goods. This has led
to conflicts and misunderstandings between the procurement unit and end users.
The primary aim of this study was to examine how public procurement reforms
have influenced the process of procuring goods, specifically at Provincial
Administration Mongu-Western Province, as a case study. The study focused on
three specific objectives: first, to determine the positive effects of public
procurement reforms on the procurement process of goods; second, to identify the
adverse effects of public procurement reforms on the procurement process of
goods; and third, to evaluate potential measures that could be implemented to
address any conflicts between the procurement unit and the user departments. A
descriptive study was adopted for its flexibility in data collection through
questionnaires and interviews. The study targeted a population of 35 individuals.
Abraham Slovin's formula was employed to determine the appropriate sample size,
resulting in a sample size of 32 participants. Data analysis for this study was
conducted using two software tools: the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS), IBM Statistics Version 27 and Microsoft Office Excel 2021. These software
packages facilitated the analysis of the collected data. Findings show that reforms
have brought positive outcomes like improved transparency, competition, and
cost reduction for suppliers. However, challenges persist such as low-quality
goods, lengthy processes, and delays caused by internet issues. To overcome
these, it is advised to regularly involve end users, decentralize the vendor creation
system, and tackle internet connectivity problems in IFMIS.