Factors Influencing Compliance to Procurement Laws and Regulations in County Governments: A Case of Embu County

Author: Mary Anyango Onyango, Mary Anne Waithira Kiguta, Agnes Wangui Wambugu, Ann Muange, Gladys Mkabane Mbuno, James Adouh Barasa, Joseph Nyerere

ABSTRACT

The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, operationalizes Article 227 of the Constitution; to provide procedures for efficient public procurement and for assets disposal by public entities; and for connected purposes. With the introduction of the devolved system of governance, business pressures are ever-increasing and public entities are now faced with persistent public outcry over poor procurement performance. This study scrutinized the factors influencing compliance with procurement laws and regulations in Embu County Government. Across sections, the descriptive research design was applied to target procurement officers, county directors, and accounts staff giving a sample size of 30 respondents. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to overcome the problem of skewed sampling associated with purposive sampling. The research project was guided by research questions based on the variables aforementioned. Data were collected by the use of the questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to generate frequency tables. Responses were provided on a Likert scale. Statistics were presented in descriptive form supported by frequency counts and percentages. The findings of the study revealed that professional ethics, staff awareness, and budgetary allocation influence compliance with procurement laws and regulations. Staff were aware and trained on the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act of 2015. However, they lacked information and training on the procurement code of ethics. It is therefore recommended that the County develops, trains staff, and institutionalizes a procurement code of ethics. Furthermore, budget allocation to various departments should take consideration of the pending bills and such bills should be forwarded to the County Assembly for budget formulation.

Keywords: Compliance, Procurement, Laws, Regulations, County, Embu

Citation

Onyango, Mary, O., Kiguta, Mary, A., W., Wambugu, Agnes, W., Muange, Ann, Mbuno, Gladys, M., Barasa, James, A., & Nyerere, Joseph. (2021). Factors Influencing Compliance to Procurement Laws and Regulations in County Governments: A Case of Embu County. Journal of Contemporary Social Science and Education, 2(1), 23‐34. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7337984