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.