Challenges of public procurement in Afghanistan: a case study of Finance and administrative directorate in Kunar

Abstract

The importance of public procurement has accepted all over the world. Public Procurement is the procedure of gaining goods, services and works for the public organization. The GoA has made significant reforms in public procurement. It was expected that the imposition of 2005 procurement law would help to overcome the challenges of public procurement in Afghanistan. However, still public procurement processes are faced with number of challenges. Through this study the researcher has tried to find out the major challenges of public procurement in Kunar, Afghanistan. The research was conducted through a descriptive survey research design. The study concerned fifty one (51) public organizations in Kunar. Related literature review about the study was reviewed based on the national and international researches and scientific papers about public procurement. Data was collected through the usage of survey questionnaires, KIIs and FDGs. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and percentages. From the research findings the major challenges were; Lack of e-procurement system, Complexity of procurement documents, Corruption in finance departments and low accountability and transparency in the procurement processes, Insufficient fund, Interference of senior officials in procurement processes, Unapraporate record keeping system for public procurement documents and Lake of security. The final recommendation was for further research to be undertaken on the relevant areas.