Challenges affecting the implementation of e-procurement in the Malawi Public Sector: - The Case of Malawi Housing Corporation, Lilongwe City Council, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Immigration Department and Malawi Defence Force.

As part of e-government initiative, the public sector is encouraged to adopt e-procurement systems and some initiatives are currently underway in Malawi public sector. Despite the numerous benefits of e-procurement and goals set by the Government of Malawi (GoM) to reduce costs, improve service delivery, enhance transparency and efficiency, the public sector is reluctant to move procurement to the Internet and government ministries or departments have not yet implemented e-procurement. This study aimed at assessing the challenges that affect the implementation of e-procurement, perceived benefits, and critical success factors for effective implementation. Both Qualitative and Quantitative research methodologies were used as a guide to achieve the research objectives and the Questionnaire was used to collect data from government ministries and departments. Systematic Random sampling was used to select the government offices to be included in the study then purposive sampling was used to obtain the required primary data from respondents that are knowledgeable with the subject area. Out of the 113 questionnaires distributed, only 91 were received and analyzed, representing 81 percent response rate. Data was analyzed using thematic areas for qualitative (descriptive data) and excel for quantitative data. The results indicate that all the public entities in this study currently do not use any form of e-procurement but they are ready to adopt some. However, the respondents were able to identify the benefits that include, reduced maverick buying and reduced lead time. Challenges for implementation include lack of trained personnel, organizational culture that does not embrace technology, lack of managerial support and cost for setting up the system. The respondents further identified some critical success factors for e-procurement implementation and these include enhanced managerial support and end user training as the major ones. While system integration, users and supplier involvement are the secondary factors for consideration too. The researcher concluded that e-procurement requires resources, training and enactment of law within the public procurement framework for improved efficiency and service delivery. Hence, recommendations have been made to various stakeholders to enhance the implementation process. For instance, the Government of Malawi (GoM) to reduce taxes on ICT equipment and develop curriculum on e-procurement in institutions of higher learning. Executive management of public institutions to involve staff during implementation and train staff on e-procurement systems and tools usage. Lastly, recommendations to employees to acquire the necessary skills through attendance of short term or long term learning from institutions such as Malawi institute of Management (MIM) to enhance computer skills capacity especially in e-procurement