An exploratory study of procurement services in Steve Tshwete Local Municipality

Background: The aim of public procurement is to ensure that procurement and service delivery processes are carried out efficiently in a manner that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. The authors have identified barriers to efficiency in public procurement processes at Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM) in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, by performing the analysis of variables such as the level of technical and managerial skills, years of experience, competencies of fellow employees and line function managers, legal frameworks, institutional culture, ability to use appropriate information technology (ICT) procedures.Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess and evaluate obstacles that undermine the perceived quality of public procurement services that are performed in STLM.Method: The study was performed by using quantitative methods of data. Data were gathered and analysed, including the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The exploratory factor analysis was used to identify underlying dimensions affecting procurement service quality.Results: The results showed that the level of performance of 133 of the 147 employees who were chosen for the study (90.48%) was adequate by the standards, whereas the level of performance of 14 of the 147 employees who were chosen for the study (9.52%) was inadequate by the same standards.Conclusion: The study found that the quality of procurement services performed by employees of the municipality was undermined by three critical factors.Contribution: These three factors were knowledge of the market conditions, knowledge of service delivery requirements and ability to assess and verify the credentials of the suppliers.