IMPLEMENTATION OF E-PROCUREMENT IN PUBLIC BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY ADMINISTRATION, ABUJA

ABSTRACT

Governments around the world have set very ambitious goals and are running programmes for the implementation of electronic service delivery in the public sector. Public sector project suffers a lot setback in procurements innovation and the implementation of e-procurement technology. This study, thus, examined the implementation of e-procurement in public building construction projects. The study adopted quantitative approach. A total of 145 questionnaires were administered using stratified sampling method. A total of 143 questionnaires was returned and found valid for analysis. The collected data were analysed using Percentages, frequency, Mean Item Score (MIS), Relative Importance Index (RII) and Skruskal Wallis test. The study found that lack of technical expertise, unreliable power supply, inadequate government support, poor ICT and internet facilities, and high costs of implementation are the main barriers to e-procurement uptake in FCTA.   Good governance in reduction of collusion among the bidders, and transparency and openness in public procurement, are the leading prospects to e- procurement implementation in the FCTA. Inadequate financial resources and backing, and inadequate technological infrastructure of tenderers are the challenges of implementing e- procurement by the public.   It was found that the prominent strategies for effective implementation of e-procurement in public sectors are; Assessing and documenting the current procurement process, Review and select the optimal e-procurement solution provider for your needs. It is recommended that appropriate legislations should be put in place by the government to encourage the uptake and adoption of e-procurement in the Federal Capital Territory Administration secretariat. .

CHAPTER ONE

1.0  INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The building construction sector is faced with complex challenges, which call for the most efficient use of available resources. Consequently, the organisations involved in the procurement of building services, products and materials are constantly seeking ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness in their procurement activities. Among the different strategies considered  to offer fresh opportunities for organisations in the building sector to improve communication and integration of task from different project team members and encourage teamwork in their procurement endeavours is the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT), such as the Internet procurement system (Ajibike, 2019).

According to Fayomi (2013), Nigeria can be described as a country of irony as the socio- economic performance over the years remained superficial and unimpressive. This was largely attributed to high level of corruption or mismanagement of public resources closely linked up with the public sector procurement systems (Fayomi, 2013).

The recent economic downturn in Nigeria has necessitated the adoption of more prudent methods of delivering construction projects. Thus, procuring entities of the government are faced with the challenge of effectively procuring projects within the meagre budget of the government (Osanyinro and Aghimien, 2017). The traditional procurement system widely practiced in the Nigerian public sector, which involves the normal advertisement process, bidding, selection to the award process is heavily challenged with so many setbacks, including selective tendering process, sole source contracting, advertisement challenges, limited and ineffective public bidding, among others. These setbacks necessitated procurement reforms in

Nigeria through the implementation of the e-procurement systems (Afolayan, 2015; Ajibike, 2019).

Over past few decades, e-procurement had been widely believed to be an avenue for integrating communities and countries into a global market economy. Thus, governments around the world set very ambitious goals and also running programmes with considerable financial volume for the implementation of electronic service delivery in the public sector (George, 2010; Toth and kwarwa, 2018).

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Abuja, Nigeria suffers many public procurement setbacks for non-implementation of e-procurement system, to which the issue of transparency and accountability, political control and auditing, and many more are challenges affecting the traditional procurement processes (Ajibike, 2019). Therefore, implementation of the e-procurement system in the public sectors of Nigeria can play an important role in minimising corrupt practices by promoting good governance and enhancing relationships between government employees and citizens tracking through monitoring and controlling and thereby reducing the  potentiality of  corrupt  behaviours  (Organisation  for  Economic Co- operation Development) (OECD, 2009).

The E-procurement system is web technology-based purchasing solutions aimed at simplifying commercial transactions within and between organisations and information technology solutions for ordering, logistics and handling systems as well as for payment systems (Gunasekaran et al., 2009). Various business concerns had found it appropriate to embrace the use of internet facilities to enhance the performance of tasks (Akintola and Oyediran, 2011; Mauti-Mose and Magutu, 2013).

The lack of detailed research findings on of e-procurement implementation in FCTA has result the government to be late to adopt the system in order to enjoy the benefits of this new

technology to the public sector (Ajibike, 2019). It is against this backdrop that the study seeks to explore the prospects of e-procurement implementation in the FCTA, Abuja, Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

The procurement system suffers various forms of malpractice and unethical conduct, including a high incidence of vested interest, interference and insider dealings and occasional cases of retrospective approval of contract awards. There is significant lack of professional knowledge and expertise in the purchasing and contracting function at all levels (Agaba and Shipman,

2012; Gastor, 2019).

The FCTA is among the government agencies that is yet to adapt into the e-Procurement system. The traditional procurement system adopted by FCTA is challenged with problems of transparency, accountability, fraud, corruption, among others, and this has drastically affected the efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement process (Ajibike, 2019).This calls for a digitalised form of procurement system. lack of detailed research on e-procurement system and little understanding on  its  implementation  in  the  public sector  in  Nigeria  has  made the government to be late to adopt the e-procurement system, thus, the implementation of this new technology has become another challenge for Nigerian public sector (Aliyu, 2015; Olatunji et al., 2016; Ajibike, 2019).

As a result of little understanding of e-procurement implementation process, the traditional procurement system adopted by the FCTA, Abuja for building construction works is characterised by fraudulent practices.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to explore the prospects of implementation of e-procurement in building construction projects of the FCTA, Abuja with a view to mitigating procurement fraud in Nigeria.

To achieve the aim of the research, the following specific objectives are formulated to:

i.      Examine the challenges associated with the paper-based procurement system in building construction projects of the FCTA Abuja;

ii.      Examine the barriers to the uptake of E-procurement in building construction projects of the FCTA Abuja;

iii.       Explore   the   prospects   of   e-procurement   implementation   in   building construction projects of the FCTA Abuja.

iv.      Examine  the  challenges  of  implementing  E-procurement  in  the  building construction projects of the FCTA Abuja.

v.      Develop strategies for effective implementation of e-procurement in the public sector of the FCTA Abuja.

1.4 Research Questions

The key research questions to answer the objectives are:

i.      What are the challenges associated with the paper-based procurement system in building construction projects of the FCTA Abuja;

ii.      What are the barriers to the uptake of E-procurement in FCTA Abuja building projects?

iii.     What are the prospects of e-procurement implementation in the FCTA Abuja?

iv.      What are the challenges of implementing E-procurement by Public FCTA Abuja?

v.      What are the strategies for effective implementation of e-procurement in the public sector of the FCTA Abuja?

1.5 Justification for the Study

To effectively justify this study, the contributions of previous studies on e-procurement cannot be overemphasised.   Internationally, studies have explored the use of e-Procurement in construction in several countries, including the USA (Issa et al., 2003), Canada (Rankin et al.,

2006), Australia (Zuo and Seo, 2006), the UK (Eadie et al., 2007; 2010; 2011), South Africa (Ibem and Laryea, 2015), and Nigeria (Oyediran and Akintola, 2011). Others have examined the strategic, opportunistic and operational benefits of e-procurement (Eadie et al., 2007; 2010; Farzin and Nezhad, 2010), and the factors influencing its adoption in supply chain management (Teo et al., 2009; Daud et al., 2013). Hashim et al. (2014) noted that e-Procurement in construction was not widespread, and that there has been limited research into the factors affecting its adoption in the construction industry. Ibem and Laryea (2015) have observed that this is particularly evident in African countries where e-Procurement adoption in construction related areas appears to be at its emerging stage.

Previous studies on e-procurement in Nigeria concentrated specifically on the state e-tendering in Nigeria; barriers to the uptake of e-tendering in Nigeria (Oyediran and Akintola, 2011; Bello and Iyagba, 2013). Therefore, few studies concentrated on the implementation of e- procurement, particularly in the Federal Capital Administration, Abuja. This serves as the gap this research is intending to fill.

The research outcome would be of significant value to the Federal Capital Territory Administration to enhance the implementation of e-procurement in the FCTA.  It will also be significant to other public sectors on the likely ways of implementing the e-procurement system in Nigeria.

1.6 Scope and Delimitations of the Study

The research covered the implementation of e-procurement in public building construction of the FCTA, Abuja. The geographical scope of the study covered the procurement units of the following 12 organisation within the Federal Capital Territory Administration Secretariats: the FCT Procurement, FCT Secondary Education Board, FCT Universal Basic Education Board, FCT Education Secretariat, FCT Transport Secretariat, FCT Agricultural Secretariat, FCT Area Council Service Commission, FCT Water board, FCT Inland Revenue Services, FCT Environmental Protection Agency, FCT Health secretariat, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMCI). They were selected because they form part of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

The contextual scope of this study encompasses procurement process of building construction projects within the FCTA Abuja. The respondents were the procurement officers and other building professionals within the procurement units, including, Quantity Surveyors, Architects, Builders, and Services Engineers.

₦15,000.00 – DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT DOWNLOAD FULL PROJECT Added to cart

---

---

---

---

Related Project Topics :