The adoption of the e-procurement system by the eThekwini Municipality for SMME owners: the views of Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) owners.

Abstract

The South African public-sector procurement system has a good legal framework based on Section 217 of The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) aimed at rectifying the imbalances of the past. The laws and regulations are in place, but the challenge is human interference, which has seen political office bearers often extending their power to influence the work of the supply chain management officials resulting in allegations of collusion and corruption. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the views of SMME owners following the adoption of e-procurement system by the eThekwini Municipality, in order to determine the influence that the system might have had on SMME owners’ business relationships with the Municipality. A qualitative, descriptive and explorative study was employed to collect data from eight participants, using semi structured interviews. Data was analysed using thematic content analysis. Four themes emerged from data as follows (i) English as a Business language and the importance of SMME owners’ level of education (ii) The importance of access to computer technology with internet for the utilization of the Supplier Self-Service System (iii) The importance of computer skills for SMME owners and (iv) The legality of e-procurement system transactions. It is recommended that the Municipality should consider using both English and IsiZulu in its e-procurement system based on the extent to which the IsiZulu language is spoken and understood within the eThekwini Municipal boundaries.