Leveraging Technology-Driven Audits to Enhance Public Procurement Good Governance in Namibia

Abstract

Public procurement has remained a central instrument for achieving transparency, accountability, and value for money in government operations. Despite an extensive regulatory framework, Namibia’s public procurement system continued to face persistent governance challenges. These challenges were primarily due to reliance on conventional procurement audit practices, which limited effective oversight, delayed the detection of procurement irregularities, and weakened audit traceability in public sector supply chains. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the role of technology-driven audits in enhancing public procurement governance in Namibia. The study focused on assessing how digital audit systems influenced audit integration, transparency, oversight effectiveness, and risk management within public sector procurement processes. Method: A descriptive mixed-methods research design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 332 procurement and audit professionals using a structured online questionnaire and analysed using SPSS through descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results: The findings indicated that technology-driven procurement audits significantly enhanced digital audit integration, improved data transparency, strengthened oversight effectiveness, and supported more proactive risk management.  However, implementation was constrained by inadequate ICT infrastructure, limited digital competencies and technical capacity, budgetary constraints, and institutional resistance to change. Conclusion: The study concluded that technology-driven audits represented a viable mechanism for improving procurement governance outcomes in the public sector, provided that institutional preparedness, sustained funding, and capacity development were adequately addressed.