Factors Influencing Compliance to the Public Procurement Law by County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Over the years, the Kenya citizenry has experienced dissatisfaction with how the public funds are utilized and this has led to growth in terms of its citizen demands for accountability by the government in how it expenses the public funds. The County governments are a key channel of public funds utilization and service delivery to the citizenry and therefore, compliance to the procurement law is critical if the counties are to achieve the intended benefits. This study sought to establish the factors influencing compliance to the public procurement law by county governments in Kenya. It was guided by four specific objectives: To determine the influence of staff awareness, adherence to ethical standards, procurement records management and procurement function structural positioning to the compliance of the public procurement law by county governments in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive research design. The population of this study were county governments in Kenya which are 47 in number. Primary data was used as the research instrument in the study. Data collection was through the use of both open and closed ended questionnaire. The study used descriptive statistics to analyse general information and factor analysis to identify the factors that influence compliance. The study found that professionalism, procurement records management, ethical standards and procurement structural positioning are significant factors that influence the compliance of the public procurement law by county governments in Kenya. Therefore, it was concluded that professionalism, procurement records management, ethical standards as well as procurement structural positioning to be good predictors of the compliance to the public procurement law. Therefore, the study recommends that the County Public Service Boards should ensure that the procurement departments are staffed with procurement professionals and that the departments are strategically placed within the county’s organization structure. In addition, the procurement units need to ensure adequacy of proper controls in management of procurement records since insufficiencies cultivates incompliance of the procurement law. Since lack of an effective ethical framework was shown to bring forth malpractice in procurement processes, the study recommends the implementation of strict rules and regulations for adherence to ethical standards by the employees.