ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: THE CASE OF FEDERAL PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS OF ETHIOPIA

Public procurement is the main tool through which governments acquire goods, works, and services in the course of achieving public objectives. The study has focused on the accountability aspects of government procurement. The study has addressed the accountability in government procurement of the federal organizations of Ethiopia, and particular emphasis was given to ministries, agencies and commissions. Procurement accountability is related to being answerable to what has been planned, what has been implemented, what result has been achieved, and how the decisions have been made. Thus, the basic objective of the study is to examine procurement related accountability in selects federal organizations of Ethiopia. The research questions have been designed to examine how accountability related factors influence government procurement, and what areas are needed to be considered in promoting accountability. Accordingly, the data show that accountability in control of efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring value for money by taking the whole-life cost of acquisition is not strong enough in selection and awarding of suppliers, and professionalism and experiences are not created well to establish a strong accountability. It has been suggested that federal organizations have to revisit the accountability issues to obtain equivalent benefit from the amount they spend. Moreover, creating accountability to the successes as well as to failures will enhance answerability of individuals working in procurement related areas.