Procurement practices in Kenya's Public Corporations

Abstract

This study was carried out to establish with an aim of establish the procurement practices among state corporations in Kenya. The study singled out National Social Security Fund as a case study. The respondents were selected through stratified random sampling from among the NSSF employees. A total of 29 respondents participated in the study. Data was collected through a questionnaire which was administered by drop and pick method. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS and the findings were presented in tables, graphs and pie charts. The study concluded that there are a number of procurement practices prevalent at NSSF.

They include: segregation of duties among the employees of procurement department; maintaining all documentation relating to the tendering process; maintains continuous improvement programs with strategic suppliers; measures costs involved in producing and delivering product and services; encouraging a range of suppliers to bid for the supply of various products and provision of services and approval of long term projects by the governing board. There are some practices that were found not to be common such as proper risk management and the board not involved in auditing of procured materials for defects. The researcher recommends that NSSF needs to come up with better risk management mechanisms.