The Impact of Political Patronage on Implementation of Public Procurement Law; Slaying the Dragon of Mega Corruption in Kenya

Abstract

Overtime, Kenya’s government has made changes to the country’s public procurement system. Two pieces of legislation govern public procurement: The Public Procurement Regulations of 2001 and the public procurement and Disposal Act of 2015. Three bodies were established under the Public procurement and Disposal Act, the public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA), the public procurement Advisory Board (PPAB) and the Public Procurement Complaints, Review and Appeals Board (PPCRAB). The PPAB and PPARB are separate bodies. Public Procurement is the most vulnerable to corruption due to massive amounts of money involved. It has been at the center of several corruption scandals in this country. Billions of shillings have been squandered due to shady procurement arrangements, which are largely due to political favoritism. As a result, the purpose of this study was to look into the impact of political patronage on Kenyan public procurement. The majority of Kenya’s corruption taken place in public sector. It’s simple to see why procurement is a hotbed of corruption because it accounts for over 60% of government revenue. Incoming governments have been known to utilize their position to sway the allocation of government contracts in order to acquire crony allegiance. While scandals imply that such tactics are pervasive, the corrupt practices have been attributed to widespread political favoritism in the public procurement industry.