CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study                                                                                     

The size of the public procurement in East African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) is quite considerable. The public authorities spend approximately 10 % of the East African countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and thus, public procurement accounts for a significant portion of the overall demand for goods and services and is increasingly seen as an attractive and feasible instrument for developing society and nation (Mutangili, 2019). Procurement constitutes about 15% to 20% of national revenue. However, the figures range from 20% to 70% among developing economies (World Bank, 2012). It is through it that the government is able to provide varieties of services and goods for its citizens towards national development. Even though the government tries to make provisions for a variety of goods and services for its citizens, it fails to do due diligence on the process thereby leading to inefficiencies, poor service delivery, risks, corruption and even legal losses. Thereby culminating loss of value for its citizens and impeding development and growth of the country.

In Cameroon, public procurement and governance contracts are regulated by decree number 2018/366 of 20^th June 2018 relating to the public contract’s code which repeals Decree no 2004/275 of September 24, 2004. The complex nature of operations in Cameroon has rendered the need for procurement services in Cameroon inevitable. Procurement services is simply the process of finding and agreeing to terms and acquiring goods, services or civil works from an external source through a tender or a competitive bidding process. The government of Cameroon in its effort to boost efficiency and integrity in public spending,  created the Ministry of Public Procurement (MINMAP), which is the first of its kind, to take up the responsibility of providing oversight to public contract procurement and management in Cameroon (Lavin, 2015).

In 2015, data from government sources or international development institutions shows that low-income countries have the largest share of public procurement in GDP, at 14.5 percent, followed by upper-middle income countries, at 13.6 percent. In Eritrea, for example, public procurement is a whopping 33 percent of GDP, due to both significant inflows of development assistance that go through public procurement and the small size of its tax base, which makes government expenditures almost entirely dependent on development aid. In Angola, the share is 26 percent of GDP, for the same reasons. Some rich countries also have high shares of public procurement in GDP, for example the Netherlands at 20.2 percent and Finland at 18.5 percent. The ratio of government expenditure to GDP in these countries is twice as large as in most emerging economies, underscoring the significance of public procurement. High-income countries in the Middle East, however, show markedly lower shares of public procurement: Oman at 6 percent of GDP, and Bahrain at 8.2 percent.

Between 2002 and 2021, GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of Cameroon grew substantially from 36.38 to 110.89 billion international dollars rising at an increasing annual rate that reached a maximum of 9.42% in 2004 and then decreased to 7.96% in 2021.This therefore suggest that procurement is important in developing countries as well as developed or advanced countries. And also important in the delivery of quality services to the citizens. Contemporarily, procurement is used as a tool for promoting the quality of public service, good governance and sustainable development (Preuss & Osei-Kojo, 2009; 2017).

Public procurement is the process through which the public sector purchases goods, services, or works from the private sector. The range of economic sectors concerned by public procurement is as wide as the needs of a government to properly function and deliver services to its citizens. Governments turn to the private sector to supply goods and services for the construction of schools, to purchase hospital supplies, to secure computer services in public buildings, renew public transportation fleets, or construct new roads. In Cameroon, the government carried out procurement in other to provide schools (primary, secondary and tertiary education), roads, and hospital and so on for its citizens. This was to make things easy, affordable and accessible for its citizens, thereby bringing development into the country.

The procurement activities are a key function whose impacts can either be effective or ineffective on service delivery. There is no service delivery without procurement. This therefore means that, service delivery is dependent on procurement be it, good or services (Oboth, 2001). According to (Helmsing, 1995) the importance of procurement reforms in almost all country’s setting can be demonstrated based on its scale and role in terms of service delivery. The procurement process then starts when an entity or organization, has identified a need, and have decided on its procurement requirements.

The procurement activities are carried out by persons who are responsible for a variety of duties, including selecting the tender structure, tender specifications and award criteria. It is important to note that, due to the intricate and varied nature of procurement, personnels who act as buyers play a crucial role in achieving the goals and functioning of the organization or institution (Bosio, Djankov, Glaeser & Shleifer, 2022). The University of Buea carries out procurement through their procurement officers. Procurement in the University of Buea is done to make available resources needed to deliver better services to their service consumers.

Procurement is defined as a service function provided by a dedicated team of professionals operating at the interface between the organization’s suppliers and the end-users in other to effectively and efficiently meet the supply needs of the organization. According to Ellaram & al. (1989), customer service outcome exists in two domains; the supplier domain and the end-user response domain. In the procurement process therefore, efforts must be dedicated to ensuring the complete satisfaction of not only the end-user of a product, but also the supplier whose products or services are incorporated into the end-user and whose performance impacts the satisfaction of the end-user. Furthermore, procurement function is responsible on one hand, for the identification of the end-user’s needs and by utilizing suppliers, meeting them. Therefore, by its very nature, procurement is a service function (Ishola, 2010).

Procurement goes through the process of assessing risks, seeking and evaluating solutions, award contracts, deliver goods and services, payment for the goods or services and where possible. Procurement also extends to the disposal of the goods at the end of its useful life. With regards to the procurement practice of the University of Buea, the University has a data base of suppliers where in the need to procure, the University doesn’t go through the solicitation process nor sending of call to tender. Procurement greater than five million in the University of Buea is handled by the development office and less than five million by the Deans of the different faculties. The central store evaluates the needs of the different faculties and ensures all supplies have been made.

1.2 Problem Statement

Procurement is essential to the growth of every organization and it’s the key to service delivery (Caulker, 2011). It is more listed as fundamental for service delivery in less developed and developing countries (Basheka & Bisangabasaya, 2010) and represents a significant percentage of total expense. The government is one of the biggest entities that does procurement and disposal on a large scale in most countries which attracts countless players and stakeholders (Ondiek & Deya, 2013). In the report of the Public Procurement Authority in 2009, it was said that, the government loses significant percent of its annual budget through ineffective procurement practices in most government organizations. But despite the efforts put by the Cameroon government through the Cameroon Public Procurement Authority (CPPA) to ensure a business-friendly environment by ensuring all practices and mechanisms are transparent and fair proves to be fatal as the procurement sector most especially the bid evaluation process is crowded with fraudulent activities. It is therefore significant for this research to investigate the effect of procurement practices such as; procurement planning, solicitation and contract management on service delivery in public universities with a case study of the University of Buea.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What is the effect of procurement practices on service delivery in the University of Buea?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

This study was aimed at giving solutions to the following questions

1. Does procurement planning influence service delivery in the University of Buea?
2. To what extent does solicitation affect service delivery in the University of Buea?

• How does contract management affect service delivery in the University of Buea?

1.4 Research Objectives

1.4.1 Main Research Objectives

The main purpose of the study was to examine the effect of procurement practices on service delivery in the University of Buea

1.4.2 Specific Research Objectives

Specifically, the objectives of the study were:

1. To analyze the influence of procurement planning on service delivery in the University of Buea.
2. To determine the effect of solicitation on service delivery in the University of Buea.

• To examine the effect of contract management on service delivery in the University of Buea.