Project Materials

IMPACT OF THE 2007 PROCUREMENT ACT ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF OFFICERS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OF NIGERIA

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

This study aims to shed more light on the influence of the Public Procurement Act on the accountability of procurement officers in the public sector in the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, as well as how it contributes positively to resource conservation in a service organisation.

However, the researcher believes it would be critical to perform a thorough investigation of the procurement process or system utilised by the services organisation, as well as the impact of the federal government procurement act on the accountability of procurement officers in the public sector.

Based on widespread corruption, doing government business had degraded significantly by the year 2000. This was attributable to the fact that no meaningful consideration was given to public service rules. Financial regulations, ethics, and standards are implemented for selfish purposes.

The federal administration acknowledged the critical need for transparency in government procedures in order to take the system forward.

As a result, in 2000, the federal government commissioned the World Bank to work with certain private sector experts to analyse the country’s financial systems and general procurement activities.

The purpose of this request to the World Bank is to assist the Nigerian government in implementing efficiency, accountability, integrity, and transparency in its procurement and financial management systems.

Based on this, the country procurement assessment report was created using a participatory review approach including key stakeholders, including representatives from the private sector as well as the federal, state, and local governments, with assistance from foreign and national consultants.

1.2 Statement of The Problems

A diagnostic study conducted in 2001 on the state of federal government public procurement revealed that Nigeria may have lost trillions of naira over the last two decades as a result of flagrant abuse of procedures for awarding public contracts, inflation of contract costs, lack of transparency, lack of competence-based competition, and merit as the fundamental criteria for awarding public contracts.

The study’s findings make it vital that the country rapidly overhaul its procurement system, if the country is to decrease the large-scale corruption and waste that has hampered the efficiency of the Nigerian public sector.

Most organisations lost a significant amount of money each year as a result of various manipulations of the contract awarding and material supply procedures. Ministries and government agencies have faced difficulty in awarding contracts due to a lack of due process within the organisations.

The federal government’s preference act on the accountability of procurement officers in the public sector is an important instrument in any fine-tuning organisation, whether it is a service or profit-driven organisation.

However, it has been observed that its value and function in promoting efficiency have yet to be recognised in the majority of Nigerian ministries.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The primary goal of this research is to evaluate the procurement act and its impact on officers’ responsibility in the public sector. The objectives are as follows:

– To assess the procurement act’s ability to provide equitable opportunities to suppliers through competitive bidding for all government contracts.

– Assess the act’s contributions/impact on decreasing and eliminating corruption in the procurement process, as well as earning the public’s and suppliers’ respect.

– Examine the act’s contribution to quality control and assurance.

– Evaluate the procurement act’s contributions to budget monitoring and management.