Influence of Supplier Prequalification Criteria on Procurement Performance at Kenya Rural Roads Authority in the County Government of Nyamira

Abstract

Prequalification of suppliers is a critical stage in the procurement process because it helps an organization to identify potential supplier who could be called upon to provide goods and services. If not well done, the procuring entity would result in having to contract the wrong individuals or companies to supply goods services and works. It is also costly to have every procurement assignment to go through the entire process of advertisement and evaluation of suppliers. Working with a leaner group of suppliers would be both time saving and cost effective. All public procuring entities undertake supplier prequalification every year or every two years as per the public procurement and asset disposal act, however, it is not known how this impacts on performance of the procurement function. Kenya rural Roads Authority is a public institution that is highly dependent on contractors to execute its functions therefore its success is dependent on its ability to engage the right suppliers. The general objective of the study is to assess the influence of supplier prequalification on procurement performance at KeRRA, Nyamira County. The independent variables of the study include youth and women involvement, community participation, technical competencies, and contractual capacity. On the other hand, the dependent variable was the performance of procurement at KeRRA. The study utilized the agency theory and resource dependency theory. The study was done at KeRRA, Nyamira County using the descriptive research design. The target population was the staff of procurement department of KeRRA as well as the county government who collaborates in various projects. The target population was 114 from which a sample of 89 was selected using the stratified random sampling technique. The study used questionnaire as the main tool for collection of primary data. The data collection instrument was subjected to a pilot study in selected procurement staff in the neighbouring Kisii County. The study found that there was statistical significance between contractual capacity and procurement performance. The study also found a statistical significance between Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities involvement in procurement activities and performance procurement. The study found a statistical significant relationship between technical capacity and procurement performance. Similarly, the study found a statistical significant relationship between community support and procurement performance. The multiple correlation effect of 0.538 indicates a relatively strong positive relationship effect between the four independent variables (Community Support, Contractual Capacity, Technical Capacity, Youth and Women Involvement) and the dependent variable (procurement performance). The coefficient of determination (R Square) indicates the variance on the dependent variable attributed to the four independent variables. In this context, the coefficient of determination (R Square) of 0.290 indicates that the four independent variables contributed to 29.0% of the variance in dependent variable. The study recommends that the procurement functions at KeRRA should pay closer attention to the contractual capacity as well as the Youth, women and PAD participation in the procurement as they had significant influence on