Digitalising Local Government Procurement Units: Panacea For Effective Public Finance Management

Abstract

The procurement units are the central organs that ensure due process of both capital and petty expenditures are adhered to, in order to ensure efficiency, economy, accountability and transparency. But among key issues that have beclouded the unit particularly at the local level is that its process is yet to be digitalized to meet best practice. Thus, this study seeks to explore the need for digitalizing local government procurement units of Adamawa State for effective public finance management. To document the study, qualitative method particularly, the survey method was used where data was collected through questionnaires and personal interview. A multi-stage sampling procedure was applied to select a sample of 126 respondents which cut across the entire ecosystem of procurement units and finance officers in Adamawa state. Descriptive and inferential (Logit regression) statistics were used to analysed the data. The study found that digitalization of the units can reduce corruption, embezzlement of public fund, increase competitiveness among bidders, effective quality service delivery and public resources accountability. The study recommend that staff training on digitalization is required, deployment of digital facilities in the entire local governments procurement units, digital transformation of the procurement processes and units is paramount for effective public financial management.