An Assessment of the Effect of the Implementation of the Integrated Financial Management Information System on Service Delivery in Developing Countries: A Case of Zambia

The Government of Zambia introduced the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to monitor how ministries, departments and other state agencies spend funds on a real-time basis in order to improve budget implementation. The objectives of IFMIS are to attain transparency, reduce financial leakages and accountability in the way Government resources are being spent. The primary objectives of this research were to assess the effect of IT infrastructure of IFMIS on public service delivery in Zambia; to evaluate the effect of IFMIS trainings on public service delivery in Zambia and to determine the effects of IFMIS implementation and adoption public service delivery in Zambia. The study utilized a quantitative approach and descriptive and correlation research design. The primary data was collected through a closed-ended questionnaire using a sample of 131 respondents from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning Headquarters based in Lusaka and was analysed through SPSS version 27 and regression and correlation were used in the study to determine the relationship between the variables. Pearson correlation revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship among the variables with values ranging from 0.5 to 0.7. The findings revealed that the IT infrastructure of IFMIS, IFMIS training and IFMIS adoption and implementation have an effect on public service delivery by improving budgeting, financial reporting, and cash management. The hypotheses were accepted as they showed p-values of less than 0.001. However, the hypothesis related to ICT infrastructure was rejected as the p value was 0.187 indicating that this was not statistically significant. The study recommends that the Ministry of Finance should enhance the capacity-building programs to equip staff with the necessary technical skills to maximize IFMIS utilization and should establish a national oversight committee to ensure consistent monitoring and evaluation of IFMIS performance, providing accountability and guidance for continuous improvement.