THESIS PROPOSAL

THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACT ON THE PROCUREMENT

PROCESS IN SIERRA LEONE PUBLIC SECTOR

SUBMITTED BY; FATU BANGURA

PROPOSED COURSE OF STUDY: MASTERS IN LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT

1
 ABSTRACT

Public procurement is the process by which governments buy inputs for vital public-sector
investments. Those investments, both in physical infrastructure and in strengthened institutional
and human capacities, lay foundations for national development. The quality, timeliness,
suitability and affordability of those procured inputs can largely determine whether the public
investments will succeed or fail. The National Public Procurement Authority is one of the
fundamental institutions established by the government of Sierra Leone to accelerate economic
growth and ensure sustainable development for the country. This study therefore, will be carried
out to examine the impact of Public Procurement Act on the Procurement Process in Sierra
Leone. Descriptive method of data analysis will be employed while the hypotheses will be tested
using the SPSS version 20.

2
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Government all over the world has a common purpose which is to care for its citizens. This
purpose has been seen by many to constitute the sine-qua-non for the existence of any
government. However, the achievement of this objective has been hampered by corruptions and
irregularities in the activities and business of government (Nwafor, 2013). In order to restore the
lost confidence of the citizens on the activities and process of government, policies and
enactments such as the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) was established under
the Public Procurement Act of 2004 to perform oversight functions and advise the Government
of Sierra Leone on Public Procurement management. Also, government must ensure
transparency and accountability in its dealings both in business transaction and non-business
activities (Adewole, 2014).

Integrity is believed to be the ultimate aim of providing for the happiness and welfare of the
citizenry and should be the emphasis in the public life (Fayomi, 2013). Since independence in
1961, Sierra Leone has passed through military and civilian rule, the military are authoritative
and rule with decree and the civilian are less authoritative and govern with the constitution and
the laws made by the legislature (Jacob, 2010). Both style of ruling engaged in businesses which
the large part is the award of contract (Jacob, 2010). The process of awarding these contracts are
usually questionable as most of the rich men and women today became rich overnight upon the
execution of government contracts. The irregularities in this process can be said to be the main
cause of the underdevelopment in this part of the world (Africa).

According to Ray (1998) to achieve development, requires making some hard choice, punching
and abandoning old methods of doing things that have contributed to underdevelopment. Prior to
2004, to regulate the award of contracts was difficult as there was no direct statutory provision
for it in Sierra Leone and the result is that the award of contract becomes a means by which the
government and the ruling elites reward their friends and associates and by which they too amass
wealth (Jacob, 2010). At this time, it was extremely difficult to get best value for money in
public procurement practices (Onyekpere, 2009). Sierra Leone under the President Ernest Bai

3
Koroma administration seeing the level of corruption in the public procurement process,
commission Anti-Corruption Commission to carry out an investigation into Sierra Leone
procurement process. The ACC urges the House of Parliament to pay close heed to the gaps
which encourage the circumvention of procurement rules and regulations whilst considering the
ongoing amendments of the National Public Procurement Act of 2004.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There have been existing open abuses to rules and standards in the award and execution of public
contracts in Sierra Leone. These were evident in over-invoicing, inflation of contract costs, and
proliferation of white-elephant projects and diversion of public funds through all kinds of
manipulation of contract system. The regulatory bodies that were set up to ensure compliance
with laid down rules and regulations on procurement and award of contracts in the public sector
appeared weak and ineffective. This resulted in a high level of corruption and enormous wastage
of public resources, lack of transparency, accountability, fairness and openness. The situation
made foreign and even local investors to lose confidence in the Sierra Leone economy. It must
be noted that the prevailing high level of corruption was closely linked up with the public sector
procurement systems, and considering that about ten percent of the gross domestic product
(GDP) must pass through the procurement systems. It then became imperative that the public
procurement systems must be reformed if Sierra Leone must achieve economic growth and
developmental strides in this new millennium. It is on this premise that this study will be
undertaken to examine the impact of public procurement act on the procurement process in
Sierra Leone public sector.

1.3 Objective of the study

The study aims to achieve the following objectives:

a) To find out if there are existing laws guiding procurement procedures in the public sector.

b) To determine if the laws guiding the public sector procurement process is effective.

4
c) To examine the impact of the public procurement Act on the procurement process in the
public sector.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Public procurement has everything to do with the public just as its name goes. Its financing is
drawn from the tax payers’ money and the Mining revenue. Thus, it is necessary that oversight
functions are not just carried out alone by those appointed but that the public become aware of
what is happening in the public procurement scene. This is to enhance their trust in the agency
and their representatives. Furthermore, an understanding of the public Procurement Act and how
it works will serve as a tool to checkmate the excesses of the institution. This is why this study
will be marked significant.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The study formulated and developed for testing, the following hypotheses:

H0: The Public Procurement Act is weak and ineffective on the Procurement process in the
Public sector.

Ha: The Public Procurement Act is weak and ineffective on the Procurement process in the
Public sector.

H0: There is no significant impact of public procurement Act on the Public sector procurement
procedure.

Ha: There is no significant impact of public procurement Act on the Public sector procurement
procedure.

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study specifically takes on the public procurement Act in Sierra Leone with special
reference to the Public sector. There are procurement procedures and Acts in the Private sector

5
but this study will be limited to the Public sector. Furthermore, this study will adopt the
descriptive statistical method whereby the questionnaire will be used to elicit responses from the
respondents to reach a conclusion. This will be the limitation, because, further studies can adopt
other methods like the investigative kind of method or the use of unbiased data from the Bureau
of public procurement in order to examine the effectiveness of the Act and in extension, the
Bureau.

1.7 Definition of terms

For the purpose of this study, some terms will be repeatedly used throughout this study and as
such its relevant that we provide clarity to these terms for effective comprehension.

Public: This word in this study refers to the people. The masses or the citizens of a given place.

Procurement: this refers to the action of buying goods, materials or services for the good of the
public.

Process: This term refers to the procedure, the pattern, the way whereby a certain action has to
be followed to arrive at an expected result. Process here has to do with the adopted pattern for
procurement.

Public Sector: The Economy is divided into two sectors. The Private sector and the public
sector. The public sector has its objectives targeted on the good of the masses. The sector is not
profit-oriented but service-oriented.

1.8 Organization of the Study

This study will be segmented into five chapters. This is to enhance comprehension, crate
symphony in writing and most importantly abide with the departmental project guidelines.
Hence, the first chapter will contain a background to the study; stating the problem, its aims,
hypotheses and significance. The second chapter will bring a review of the related and available
literatures. It recognizes the works of several scholars on the same subject and brings to light

6
their contributions and opinions. This chapter will be divided into the conceptual, theoretical and
empirical frameworks. The third chapter will reveal methodology that will be adopted for this
study. The fourth chapter will have to do with the presentation and interpretation of data. This
will be scientific because my claims have to be backed up by verified facts. The fifth chapter will
give us the summary of the entire work in few sentences, draws the conclusion for the study and
gives recommendations if any.

1.9 Review of related literature

Public procurement is an intriguing ‘field’, given its apparent and deceiving blandness as a topic,
its undeniably huge importance for governments, for industry and for entire economies (only
relatively recently acknowledged), and because it has attracted in the last few decades sudden
interest and enthusiasm for its ‘promises' to furthering public policy, yet unmatched by much
research scrutiny. As a field of enquiry or policy it appears to never have been properly framed,
neither claimed by any particular academic discipline nor been the subject of intense academic
debates. Increasingly assorted sources have come to claim some parts of the policy territory
surrounding public procurement to attempt placing government procurement ‘on the agenda’, but
without offering clear ways to integrate that variety of views on the topic; which has resulted in
much more advocacy commentary about its potential than in-depth research about its efficacy.

The public procurement Act serve as a guide to the implementation of any public procurement in
Sierra Leone to ensure true value for money, fairness, transparency, accountability, efficiency
and effectiveness. The act is structured into twelve parts and each of the parts is targeted at
reducing or eradicating the plague that has eaten deep into the public procurement process in
Sierra Leone. In order to ensure compliance, the Act provides in section one of part one for the
establishment of the National Public Procurement Act (NPPA).

Public procurement is the process by which governments and other publicly-funded entities
acquire goods, works, and services needed to implement public projects. It accounts for at least
15% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), and even more in African countries (World
Bank, 2013). Governments over the past few decades having looked at ways to get down public
expenditure and ensure efficient and effective use of the taxpayers’ resources. To this end, public
procurement is needed. Public procurement is the acquisition of goods and services at the best

7
possible total cost by the government and public institutions. According to Sarfo (2011), public
procurement is a practice that is used by public sector organizations to acquire goods, services
and works from third parties meaning suppliers. It includes money spent by the public sector to
provide key services directly to citizens.

In view of this, the Government of Sierra Leone introduced the National Public Procurement Act
in 2004 to bring sanity into public procurement and ensure that the nation saved money by
cutting out dubious practices. The principal objective of any transparent and efficient public
procurement was the attainment of a timely and cost-effective implementation of public sector
activities devoid of all traces of corruption (Ghanaweb, 2007). This paper therefore assembles
relevant literature in connection with the procurement act to provide a theoretical foundation for
the study.

The European Union (2013) defines procurement as the act of obtaining or buying goods and
services. The process includes preparation and processing of a demand as well as the end receipt
and approval of payment. Cole (2007) defines procurement as the purchase of merchandise or
services at the optimum possible total cost in the correct amount and quality. He further
reiterated that Procurement can also be simply defined as the procedure in which goods or
commodities are bought when prices are low. The process of procurement often involves;
purchase planning, standards determination, specifications development, supplier research and
selection, value analysis, financing, price negotiation, making the purchase, supply contract
administration, inventory control and stores, disposals and other related functions. Rose-
Ackerman (1999) cited by Søreide (2002) divides procurement into three categories:

(i) Purchases that require specialized research and development, such as newly designed
military aircraft.
(ii) (ii) Purchases of complex, special purpose projects, such as dams or port facilities
that do not involve advances in technology but require managerial and organizational
skills.
(iii) (iii) Purchases of standard products sold in open markets, such as motor vehicles or
medical supplies (off-the shelf purchase). Customized versions of products otherwise
available in open markets, such as special purpose computer systems or fleets of
police cars.