INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS IN COUNTY GOVERNMENTS IN KENYA: A CASE OF KISUMU COUNTY

Abstract

Public Procurement system is the bridge between public procurement and private sector providers. Audits carried out on Kenya‟s public procurement system disclosed serious shortcomings ranging from inefficiency to lack of sound and transparent legal framework. To streamline the legal framework in the public, the government came up with procurement Act 2005, and various Public procurement and disposal manuals, together with the PPDA 2015. This study investigates internal factors affecting efficiency of public procurement process in county governments in Kenya. Budgetary allocation, Non Compliance with policy and regulations, capacity building and political interference were used to give more insight into the study. The target population consists of 190 top, middle and lower level management officers. The study used a random stratified sampling method to select a sample of 57 from the population. Descriptive research design was to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to variables. Both open and closed ended questionnaires have been used for data collection. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 to compute percentages of respondents‟ answers. Inferential statistics using multiple regression and correlation analysis were applied to examine the relationship between research variables. Tables were used to present the analyzed results. The study findings revealed that budgetary allocation, non- compliance with policy and regulations, capacity building and political interference affect efficient public procurement to a great extent. The study recommends that enough budgetary allocation should be given to the county governments and that procuring entities within the county governments should uphold the legal requirement and guidelines outlined in the public procurement and disposal Act 2015 as this will enhance the promotion of fair competition through the selection of appropriate procurement methods.