Factors Affecting Procurement Policy Compliance in Public Sector in Kenya: A Case of Ministry of Health

Abstract

Because of the critical role of public procurement, this study intended to establish the factors affecting procurement policy compliance in public sector in Kenya. The study specifically focused on the influence of organization culture, Institution enforcement mechanism, top management support, staff competence on procurementpolicy compliance in public sectorin Kenya. This study adopted a descriptive survey design.The target respondents for this study was138 employees that work in procurement, finance and legal matters divisions of the department of administrative services according to the ministry of health website. The study adopted random sampling technique with respect to the unit of analysis which was procurement, finance and legal matters divisions of the department of administrative services in the ministry of health. The study used primary data collected by the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were self-administered with the help of two research assistants. The questionnaires were administered through a drop and pick method as well as through mail. A multiple linear regression model was used to test the significance of the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Resultswere presented in form of tables and charts.The findings revealed that organisation culture; top management support and staff competence had a positive and significant influence with the Level of procurement compliance.On the other hand, regulation enforcement mechanism was found to have positive but insignificant effect on the procurement compliance. Based on these findings the study concluded that organisations culture both in private and public sector is very critical in procurement performance. The study concluded that increased enforcement actions and increased penalties could lead to greater levels of compliance with the procurement laws. The study also concluded that lack of a high degree of professionalism in public procurement lead to corruption, which ultimately impedes the level of compliance.

Key Words: Organization Culture, Top Management Support, Staff Competence, Regulation Enforcement, Procurement Performance