Towards designing an e-procurement planning system: A strategic lever of effective

service delivery in local authorities

By
Sithole James
C21147212H
1.0 Background

Procurement is more frequently rising as a strategic function essential for the provision of
services (Basheka & Bisangabasaija, 2020). It is through public procurement governments
are able to provide goods, services and works. Governance procurement accounts for a
sizable portion of overall costs. Public procurement accounts between 10-15% of the global
GDP globally (OECD, 2015). Singapore spends only 18% of its GDP. At the epicenter of
public procurement is procurement planning. Public procurement has risen in the recent years
to become a crucial strategy of success in most government procurements (Kovacs, 2021).

Such a contested background highlights the importance of carrying out an inquiry into the
implications of an e-procurement planning system on the procurement performance of the
organization. World over local authorities now plays a significant role in the community and
national development. Local authorities are conduits for the government of ensuring that the
community receives services (Diaz-Serrano & Rodriguez-Pose, 2015). These services are in
various forms and not limited to water and sanitation, timely refuse collection, road
maintenance, education and primary health care. It is through local authorities, governments
are able to determine the quality of they give to their citizenry and communities (Rose &
Newton 2018).

In this 21st century citizens are now demanding more and quality services from their
governments. Effective service delivery has emerged a key indicator of performance in
government departments (Awayo, 2019). The mandate to deliver basic local public service
delivery largely rests on local authorities (Marumahoko, Sadie, Afolabi, & Nhede, 2020).
Local governments are better positioned to provide services because they are closer to the
people (Anane, Adoma, & Awuah, 2019).

The state of public service delivery in Zimbabwe, has been recorded to be in shambles
(ZIMCODD, 2021). However, this is not only at local levels. Even at the national level,
public service delivery has been characterised with potholed roads, failing infrastructure, an
aging public healthcare system with ill-equipped hospitals, a shortage of necessary
pharmaceuticals and other medical necessities, significant water shortages, and a crumbling
public education system (ZIMCODD, 2021). Poor public service delivery has been recorded
in both rural and urban communities, with urban residents being the most affected. The
Auditor-Report General's on Local Authorities (2019) released to the Zimbabwean
Parliament for the financial year ending 31 December 2018 offers a bleak image of
insufficient service provision in the country's cities, towns, and smaller urban settings. It
painted a grim picture of poor service delivery that included immobility, huge strain, poor
and non-existent water supply, inconsistent garbage collection, and decrepit service delivery
infrastructure, among other things. The nature of service delivery at the Ruwa Local Board
has deteriorated, with garbage collection occurring only once or twice a month, if at all, while
water shortages and sewer breaks endanger public health and inadequate infrastructures
(Herald, 2020).

According to Kariuki (2021) the contribution of procurement planning in facilitating an

efficient and effective service delivery in public sector organizations is generally undisputed
in both developed and developing countries. Its contribution can be at both central and local
government levels of public sector management. Public procurement planning can be a
cornerstone of municipal service delivery effectiveness. However, studies on procurement
planning a very limited in the body of knowledge. It is against this background the current
study investigated on the role of public procurement planning on service delivery.

Statement of the problem

Poor service delivery continues to increase in most local authorities in Zimbabwe. This has
been evidenced by the lack of basic social amenities services in the country’s urban and rural
communities which include but are not limited to infrequent water delivery, burst water and
sewer pipes, fecal contamination of important water sources, deterioration in road networks,
malfunctioning traffic lights, non-collection of refuse, unfinished capital projects. This made
service delivery a hot topic in Zimbabwe in 2019. Over two million people in the City of
Harare were reportedly able to obtain water once per week in 2019, (CNN, 2019). The
Auditor General's Report (2019) on local authorities paints a sober picture of the country's
substandard service delivery. It paints a deplorable picture of the state of service delivery,
marked, among other things, by paralysis, extreme stress, inadequate or non-existent water
supply, sporadic garbage collection, and outdated service delivery infrastructure. Poor
performance of most local authorities has been attributed to poor procurement. At the
epicentre of procurement is procurement planning in a way to ameliorate on poor
procurement practices, the study investigates on the effect of e-procurement planning on
service delivery.

Research Objectives

 To assess the impact of the current manual procurement planning system on quality-
of-service delivery in Zimbabwean local authorities

 To establish the determinants of an effective e-procurement planning system in

Zimbabwean local authorities.

 To establish the potential benefits of an e-procurement planning system on the

quality-of-service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities

 To design an electronic e-procurement planning system that enhances the quality-of-

service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities.

Research Questions

 How does current manual procurement planning system impact quality-of-service delivery on
Zimbabwean local authorities?
 What are the determinants of an effective e-procurement planning system in Zimbabwean
local authorities?
 What are the potential benefits of an e-procurement planning system on the quality – of –
service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities?
 How electronic e-procurement planning system enhances the quality -of-service delivery in
Zimbabwe’s local authorities?
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers the literature related to the study. It is from studies and observations made by
other scholars or researchers with more concrete understanding of the object. The chapter reviewed
literature and related literature on the subject of e-procurement planning and how this
improves the development of an efficient procurement system. The purpose of the review is
to expose the knowledge gaps from previous studies and how this current study will also fit
help expand the boundaries of knowledge. Main components of the review include the
theoretical framework, empirical review and the conceptual model that guides the study.

2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Theoretical literature is the structure that supports the theory of the research study. It tries to
link all components of the research under the study. Botha (1989) stipulated that theoretical
framework is used in research to lay out possible courses of action or to present a preferred
approach to an idea. Hanja (2011) suggested that good research should be grounded in theory;
hence this study is being guided by principal agency theory, institutional theory and socio-
economic theory.

2.1.1 Principal -Agency Theory

The principal – Agency theory developed by Lupia (1998) states that analysis and evaluation of
service delivery requires a specification of a person who is or is supposed to be accountable to whom.
It is a theory which explains the relationship between two concerned parties that is the
principal who is the owner, authority of decisions to be made and the agent takes action on
behalf of the principal. According to Jensen & Meckling (2006) agency relationship is a
binding agreement under which the principal invites an agent to execute some service on her
or his behalf which includes delegating some activities. When performing tasks under this
relationship, the agent must choose activities that have consequences for both parties. The
outcome of the actions chosen can be either positive or negative and at the end it will affect
welfare of both parties. It requires the agent to put effort and to show professionalism and
experience when making decisions.

In order to have an effective relationship between the agent and the principal with fewer
problems the person delegating tasks must choose an appropriate agent with needed skills and
abilities to perform activities. Inevitably, the principal still encounters problems in governing
the relationship. On the other hand, Jensen & Meckling (1976) outlined that both parties want
to maximise utility hence conflict of interest may arise as they may fail to follow the interest
of the principal as such the principal has the duty to limit their interests through creation of
proper monitoring mechanisms and control systems. Ouyanga (2006) noted that the agency
theory contains an element of information asymmetry which is withholding of information by
one party to the agreement mostly this is done by the agent and it leads to the scenario noted
by Douma and Shredner (2002) as information hidden. Information asymmetry directs to
agent opportunism which is the other element and the last element is risk aversion. Xingxing
(2012) cited that information asymmetry may lead to two problems which are an agency
problem and risk sharing problem. Teoroll (2014) added that self-interest and asymmetric
information lead to corruption and bad governance. This research included the agency theory
where public procurement functions are delegated with the authority to carry out procurement
duties on behalf of the public, organizational management and above all the Procurement
Regulatory of Zimbabwe, Principal(s) and agent(s) operating within procurement system with
restrictions and regulatory environment that impact indirectly or directly on their actions.

2.1.2 Institutional theory

The institutional theory is the traditional approach that is used to examine elements of public
procurement (Luhmann, 2011). Scott (2013) identifies three pillars of institutions as regulatory,
normative and cultural cognitive. The regulatory pillar emphasizes the use of rules, laws and sanctions
as enforcement mechanism, with expedience as basis for e-sourcing. According to Scott (2013),
institutions are composed of normative cognitive, cultural-cognitive and regulative elements that,
together with associated activities and resources give meaning to life. In Zimbabwe Public
Procurement is guided by PPDPA act, regulations and guidelines which are from time to time issued
by the Authority only which must be complied with by all public entities. Institutional theory states
that there should be e-sourcing with public procurement regulations to ensure competitive bidding, e-
tendering and professionalism in procurement process (Andrew, 2014).
In addition of the above it is worth noting that the normative strong hold the signification of
traditions, for instance, how things should be done, and further, the values which dictates the
preference or the desired social (how things should be responsibility as the foundation of compliance.
The strong hold of regulatory elements emphasis how rules in the society should be used, how laws
and to the extension, sanctions are the enforcement criterion and the result is the compliance of the
same. The normative strong hold is the cultural-cognitive oriented and thus, it is based shared
understanding for instance, sharing of the binding beliefs. The theory is thus regarded crucial to
execution of sustainable procurement policy and practice in public serving organizations. It is one of
the major proponents of organizational deals culture and which also looks into the degree to which the
already in existence condition in an organization supports sustainability and the change in general
(Brammer and Walker, 2007).

2.1.3 Socio-Economic Theory

The combination of economic theory with other theories from the social sciences and to the
extension, of socioeconomic theory, breeds an overall moral responsibility that therefore acts
as determinants of individuals’ decisions on compliance (Sutinen and Kuperan, 2009). The
psychological way of looking at things gives a provision on the priming’s of success or the
failure of organizational amenableness. The assumption puts an emphasis on how
relationships and interaction occur in the group and society at large should be interacting, and
also, furthers the continuous provision of the understanding of how the local authorities
procures, and to the extension, its procurement system, (Huiet, 2011). These theories enable
us to understand the policies and the planning of the sustainable e-procurement practices in
local authorities. It thus influences on service delivery to the public.

2.2 Conceptual framework

Procurement planning budget plans

Independent
variables

Quality plans

Availability of public service

Dependent
Service delivery variables Accessibility of public service

Affordability of public service

Source: Developed by the researcher basing on Lupia’s (1998) principle Agent theory.
A conceptual framework in figure 1 illustrates that procurement planning influences the level of
service delivery. Procurement planning was conceptualized or broken into small constructs such as
budget plans and quality plans. Service delivery was conceptualized in terms of availability of public
services, accessibility of public services and affordability of public services.

2.2.1 EFFECT OF PROCUREMENT PLANING ON SERVICE DELIVERY

According to Kearns (1996) procurement planning consists of the process used by companies or
institutions to plan purchasing activity for a specific period of time and this is commonly completed
during the budgeting process. Usually during the procurement planning, departments at the Local
Government level for this case are required to request budget for staff, expenses, and purchases and
this is taken as the first step in the procurement planning process. The budgets for all the
departments are then reviewed, and in an organization that is committed to procurement planning,
the accountants spend the time to find common purchasing requirements. Based on the budgets
submitted, they may direct departments to work with central purchasing to combine their planned
spending for specific commodities.

2.2.2 EFFECT OF BUDGET PLANS ON SERVICE DELIVERY

Horngren et al (2004) described budget as the quantitative expression of a proposed plan of action
by management for a specified period. Proper budgeting assists public sector entities to ensure that
expenditure patterns in to programmes and projects occur within a budgeted vote (Siswana, 2007).
Furthermore, as noted by Russell and Bvuma (2009) there is need to plan budget for and implement
actions which have potential of radically improving reach, accessibility of service delivery in public
sectors. It is helpful to look at the money going in and out across a whole year. Bank statements,
bills, credit card statements, receipts and shopping dockets will help you to work out all your
expenses. E-procurement planning currently in Zimbabwe is affected by continuous change in prices
since it hinders the planning process hence it affects service delivery in local authorities.
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Nakawooya (2018) carried out a research on procurement planning and service delivery in
Jinja local government in Uganda. The study was guided by three specific objectives these
were; to examine the effect of budget plans on service delivery in Jinja district Local
Government, to establish the effect of procurement methods on service delivery in Jinja
district Local Government, and to assess the effect of quality plans on service delivery in
Jinja district Local Government. The study also adopted the descriptive correlational to
measure the degree of association between variables, crosssectional research design was used
because data was drawn/collected from a wide spread of respondents and single linear
regression analysis was used to establish the significant effect between variables in order to
fulfil the research objectives. The findings indicated that procurement methods has a
significant effect on service delivery in Jinja district Local Government, this was so because
procurement methods had a significant impact on service delivery , hence confirming that the
more effective procurement methods is, the more it improves service delivery in Jinja district
Local Government. The researcher recommended that; the local government of Jinja, should
put in place effective budget plans on all suppliers’ records, the local government of Jinja
should make sure that the decision to use a particular procurement method should always
primarily base on the stipulations of the procurement legal framework and the local
government of Jinja, the procurement planning should involve always making key decisions
in the procurement cycle for major projects that includes business case and contract award.

Onega et al, (2022) carried out a research on the influence of procurement plan on the
effectiveness of procurement process of public universities in Eastern region, Kenya. The
study was guided by the following objective to evaluate the influence of procurement plan on
the effectiveness of procurement process among Public Universities in Eastern Region,
Kenya. The study employed a descriptive research design with a study population of 94
departmental heads of the user departments in 5 Public Universities in the Eastern Region of
Kenya. A census was conducted on all the 94 departmental heads under consideration, and
primary data was obtained. Out of the 94 targeted, the study managed to obtain only 91,
giving a response rate of 97%. Linear regression model was employed to bring out the effect
of procurement plan on the effectiveness of the procurement process of public universities in
Eastern region, Kenya. The study concluded that public universities should encourage user
departments to actively participate in procurement plan since it impacted positively on the
effectiveness of the procurement process of public universities in Eastern region. The study
recommends that universities should involve user departments in the preparation of
procurement plan to enhance effectiveness of procurement process. The study will form a
basis of policy formulation on procurement matters and provide a basis for further research in
the field. The study findings will be useful to procurement policy makers in streamlining
public procurement practices.

Chiti (2021) conducted research titled, accessing the effects of procurement planning on the
performance of an organisation in the public sector case of Mufumbwe Town Council in
Zambia. The specific objectives were to: determine the extent to which Mufumbwe Town
Council has adopted procurement planning as key to effective procurement of goods, works,
and services, examine how the adoption of procurement planning has affected the
performance of Mufumbwe Town Council, examine the challenges faced in implementing
efficient procurement planning at Mufumbwe Town Council and identify the key benefits of
implementing procurement planning at Mufumbwe Town Council. The study was supported
by three theories namely the Resource-Based Theory, Stakeholder Theory and Relationship
Management Theory. Study findings indicated that procurement planning has a positive
impact on the organizational performance of public sector organisations; such as improved
Quality products, Timely delivery, Cost reduction and Customer satisfaction. Key challenges
of implementing procurement planning in public sector organisations include Employees not
having the requisite skills, expertise and knowledge in procurement planning, Resource
allocation and management support, Lack of finance to implement procurement planning
practices, Procurement planning objectives that are not compatible, Open communication and
information sharing difficulty, Lack of cooperation and teamwork during implementation,
Delays of funds and Focus on fighting instead of collaboration. The study recommends that
procurement planning should always be considered pivotal to an organization’s operational
performance. Organizations should ensure they have competent employees in procurement
and procurement planning to chart a way forward for the procurement function. The findings
may not be applicable to all the other enterprises but can be generalized in Zambia and the
world at large.

Nshimyumuremyi (2018), conducted research titled procurement planning and value for
money among selected districts in Rwanda. This study investigated the effect of procurement
planning on value for money Among Selected Districts in Southern Province, Rwanda. The
study was limited to the following objectives: to determine the effect of procurement
packaging on value for money Among Selected Districts in Southern Province, Rwanda, to
establish the effect of procurement method on value for money Among Selected Districts in
Southern Province, Rwanda and to find out the effect of procurement scheduling on value for
money Among Selected Districts in Southern Province, Rwanda. The study revealed that
procurement packaging significantly affects the value for money. Furthermore, the study
revealed that procurement method significantly affects value for money. Similarly, the study
revealed that procurement scheduling significantly affect value for money. The study
concluded procurement planning affects value for money. The study made the following
recommendations; the need for procurement officers to use good procurement packaging
where they allow bidders to submit bids for one or multiple lots; the need for procurement
officers to embrace all procurement methods depending on the circumstance and the nature of
the project so as to be as comprehensive as possible since each procurement method has its
own advantage; the need for procurement officers to involve stakeholders and superiors in
project scheduling so as to streamline any inconsistency. The contribution of knowledge to
the current study is that procurement packaging, procurement method and procurement
scheduling affect value for money significantly, though other scholars found mixed results in
the same.

2.4 KEY CONCEPTS

2.4.1: SERVICE DELIVERY

Service delivery is a business framework that supplies services from a provider to a client (Zinyama,
2021). It also includes the constant interaction between the two parties during the duration of time in
which the provider supplies the service and the customer purchases it. Essentially, a service delivery
company provides something to a customer they can’t create on their own. That service could be
anything from a task to technology or information. It can fall into two broad categories of general
reference for any service or more industry-specific models for technical service. There are four
components that companies use to provide the best customer experience through service delivery.
These are service culture, employee engagement, service quality and customer service. Service culture
relates to the leadership principles, vision, mission, work habits and values of the service provider
company. Employment engagement focuses on those who work within an organisation to provide
service delivery. This serves as the link between the service delivery design process and the
excellence model that the customer experiences. Service quality includes all strategies, performance
management systems and processes involved in service delivery. These items help define the
management model that helps the client reach their end goal within the service delivery process.
Customer service focuses on providing the client with both the resources and knowledge they desire
about their service delivery product. It includes items like account management, customer intelligence
and continuous improvement.

2.4.2 E-PROCUREMENT PLANNING

Awati and Pratt, (2021) defined e-procurement as the process of requisitioning, ordering and
purchasing goods and services online. It is a business-to-business process. E-procurement utilizes a
supplier’s closed system and is only available to registered users. E-procurement facilitates
interactions between preferred suppliers and customers through bids, purchase orders and invoices.
According to a survey by CPO Compass, nearly 78% of Chief procurement officers believe that
inflation and rising costs of goods are their top challenges. E-procurement boasts a suite of innovative
features all designed to bolster the efficiency, effectiveness and total cost of procurement.

E-procurement offers significant benefits for your organization, and the most common are
automates laborious tasks, tasks such as auctioning orders and document management for
purchase orders, evaluating and selecting suppliers, price negotiations, agreement creation,
storing supplier contracts, and more can all be automated between an organization and its
suppliers. This increases your business speed, freeing up staff for other tasks. Also improved
workflows for procurement this enables end-user self-service and decentralization with
control through company-approved catalogues and more frictionless processing of employee
requisitions (ordering goods and services) and supplier payments. It also increase visibility of
your purchasing behaviours, e-procurement will give your organization visibility into what it
spends. This invaluable data will help you control non-compliant or dissident spending. It
may give you the tools to identify areas for consolidation of suppliers or to leverage buying
power to negotiate cost savings. It also connects to external supply chains and finance
systems. Real-time information can be shared between finance systems and supply chains for
better visibility of supplier information and transactions.

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