Public Procurement Practices and Challenges in Ethiopia: Evidence from Selected Public Organizations
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The objective of this study is to assess the regulatory framework, practices and challenges of
public procurement in selected public organizations in Ethiopia, and to see the main
procurement procedures in light of public procurement practices in some East African countries.
The study used mixed research approaches: Survey, in-depth interviews and documentary
analysis. The main findings include: some public procurement performances regarding need
identification, selection of procurement methods and planning processes were not in accordance
with the procurement rules and regulations, and lack of effective use of procurement budget. As
the study reviled the causes for the problems were: failure to retain skilled manpower due to
low government salary scale; only one agency (the procurement agency) is mandated to process
all public procurement in all public organizations; and lack of transparency in the contract
administration procedure. Moreover, the result shows that the main procurement procedures in
the three East Africa countries are similar to that of Ethiopia in many aspects. However, some of
the observed gaps should be filled. This needs commitment from responsible government
authorities to improve the public procurement practices and resolve challenges for sound public
procurement practices.
Key Words: Public procurement, procurement procedures, procurement planning, procurement
specifications
Description
Keywords
Public procurement, procurement procedures, procurement planning, procurement specifications