Electronic procurement system: a case of ministry of water supply and drainage in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage (MWS&D) has placed the highest priority to provide safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities to the community. It is imperative to ensure speed, transparency, Value for Money (VFM), and integrity in all the development spheres to achieve desired result, in line with on time completion, quality achievement, and cost efficiency when procure the goods, works, and consultancy and other services. However, majority of water supply projects of the Ministry have based on the funds from the foreign funding agencies even though, inadequate capacities of existing manual procurement process to work compatible with the funding agencies procurement policy is a critical issue. Accordingly, in this study explored the concept of e-procurement as an instrument to modernise, simplify, and improve the existing manual process. Case study approach was selected and officers of the each and every profession of the MWS&D, National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB), and the registered contractors of the Ministry were selected for collect the data on the existing manual procurement process, gaps, and requirements. Semi-structured interviews and observations were carried out as main data collection techniques. Experienced professionals in the field of procurement were also consulted to ascertain their opinions on verification of the feasibility of the scope of the proposed e-procurement system. Findings of the study analysed and presented by using Content Analysis and Cognitive Mapping. Results verified the possibility of introducing and implementing the e-procurement system to the MWS&D by using available resources, infrastructure, and capacity with the Information Technology facilities and legal sanction on e-documents under the two phases.