Role of Procurement Practices on the Performance of Projects Funded by Constituency Development Fund in Kenya

Abstract

The enactment of Constituency Development Fund Act in the year 2003 was seen a breakthrough in facilitating the development of Kenyan constituencies by having a share of the national government revenue been channeled directly to the constituencies. This has transformed some constituencies but cases of wastage of the CDF money through malpractices in the tendering process which has been leading to stalled, abandoned and quality issues being raised for the on-going and completed projects have been cited by the Kenyan auditor general. Studies done in regard to use of CDF in different constituencies in Kenya have put the procurement process on the spot. However the studies were not geared towards the role procurement practices play in determining the success or failure of projects funded by Constituency Development Fund. This backdrop formed the basis of the study for which the general objective of the study was the role of procurement practices on the performance of Projects funded by Constituency Development Fund in Kenya. The specific objectives were formulated after exploration of best procurement practices adopted in other countries and included; the role of stakeholder management, supply chain risk management, contract management, Supplier Appraisal on the performance of projects funded by Constituency Development fund in Kenya. Theories relevant to this study were reviewed which included; stakeholder management theory, project management theory, Grey Systems theory and Transaction costs Economic Theory. The study variables were discussed under conceptual framework under independent variables namely stakeholder management, supply chain risk management, contract management, and Supplier Appraisal. Critique of relevant literature to the study was done and research gaps identified. The target population was all the projects funded by CDF in Machakos County constituencies. The study used stratified random sampling and the sample size was 450 projects. The study used questionnaires for data collection which were self administered by research assistants. Qualitative and quantitative data was coded and entered in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. Descriptive statistics were generated. To test the xxii relationship between independent and dependent variables correlation analysis was undertaken where all the independent variables were positively correlated with the dependent variable. To test the predictability role of the model and test of hypothesis, logistic regression was used where the results showed that contract management had the highest predictability role in the model. For stakeholder management regular communication with stakeholders was ranked as the most effective stakeholder management method followed by mutual trust and respect amongst the stakeholders. Standardizing inputs specifications was found out to be the most effective method for supply chain risk. Financial appraisal was found to be one of the most undertaken appraisal across many projects. One sample T test was used to evaluate the perceived effect of independent variables for which the findings were in line with the results obtained in the logistic regression model. The study recommended that, the project and procurement committees should reduce resources meant for supply chain risk management as more emphasis on supply chain risk management would negatively affect the performance of the projects funded by CDF. Further adoption of e-contract management was recommended to ensure real time tracking and retrieval of contracts records.