Assesssing the influence of public procurement policy on social cash transfer (SCT) Donor funded projects

Abstract

This study examines the influence of public procurement policies on the implementation of donor-funded Social Cash Transfer (SCT) projects, using the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) in Lusaka as a case study. The research addresses the growing concern that procedural misalignments, institutional capacity gaps, and overlapping donor-national procurement frameworks significantly hinder project performance, particularly in resource-constrained settings like Zambia. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the study integrated structured questionnaires (n=83) and semi-structured interviews (n=12) to capture both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Quantitative analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that e-procurement adoption, donor-national policy alignment, and staff training levels had statistically significant effects on project timelines and service delivery efficiency. Thematic analysis of interview data confirmed these findings, with respondents highlighting delays caused by dual procurement systems, inadequate staff capacity, and the absence of harmonized procedures. A joint display matrix was used to integrate both data strands, showing strong convergence on core challenges while revealing divergence in the perceived impact of decentralization. The findings point to an urgent need for policy harmonization, investment in capacity development, and adoption of standardized operating procedures. The study concludes by proposing actionable recommendations across four domains: policy harmonization, capacity development, digital transformation, and decentralization. It contributes to procurement theory and public administration literature by offering empirical evidence from a developing country context, while informing donor-government strategies for procurement reform in Zambia’s social protection sector