Impact of public procurement act 15 of 2015 on service delivery: A case study of the Ministry of Health and Social Services
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
This study evaluated the effects of the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015 on service
delivery in the Namibian public sector and focused on the Ministry of Health and Social
Services (MoHSS) as the case study. The study determined the challenges the Ministry is
currently facing due to Act 15 of 2015; identified the potential bottlenecks or barriers to
effective procurement and service delivery that may arise as a result of the procurement
Act and proposed recommendations for improvement. It also evaluated the impact of the
procurement act on cost savings and budget utilisation within the Ministry, with a focus
on achieving value for money in procurement. A mixed research method and pragmatism
research philosophy were used with a sample size of 55 respondents. In total, 55
questionnaires were distributed across the MoHSS departments and 3 in-depth interviews
were conducted. Regression analysis (Ordinary Least Squares) was used to determine the
effect of the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015 on public service delivery. The study
found that Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015 was deemed to have a significant positive
impact on the provision of public services. Service delivery and the execution of the Public
Procurement Act 15 of 2015 are significantly correlated, as indicated by the strong
positive correlation (R =.733). Procurement delays, lack of procurement specialists and
inadequate budgetary and fiscal resources were the main challenges affecting the MoHSS.
The study further found that the procurement Act has an effect on cost savings and budget
utilisation. The findings suggest a moderate-to-strong explanatory power of the
Procurement Act on service delivery. The study recommends that audits must be carried
out by the MoHSS to ascertain the effectiveness of the implementation and identify any
emerging problems within procurement. Decentralisation of medical supplies and related
essential services at regional level should be implemented to shorten the waiting period of
procurement processes. For future research, this study recommends that more attention
should be on the challenges that arose due to the implementation of the public procurement
Act in Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs). A thorough investigation in the
challenges would be required to help come up with tangible solutions that policy makers
would use to improve the implementation of the Procurement Act. The study further
recommends that a qualitative study and the use of in-depth interviews would be more
suitable for future studies to obtain more detailed insights from the respondents
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Accounting and Finance
Keywords
Procurement Act 15 of 2015, Namibia, Public service delivery, University of Namibia