Procurement Procedures and Implementation of Kenya Ports Authority Projects, Mombasa County

Abstract

The Kenya Port Authority aims at aligning its policies and projects to the government’s Big Four development agenda: Food Security, Manufacturing, Universal Healthcare and Affordable Housing. However, most projects have faced key challenges on time and costs management which have led to lack of project completion within the specified time and thus increases the costs involved. The intended benefits are partly or never realized due to many unsuccessful project implementations. The main objective of the research study was to investigate the influence of procurement procedures on the implementation of Kenya Ports Authority Projects, Mombasa County. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the influence of procurement planning, supplier selection, contract monitoring and control and inventory management. The study was guided by grey system theory and lean inventory theory. This study utilized descriptive research design. The unit of observation was the project managers and project team who are directly involved in the implementation of projects undertaken by KPA. Therefore, the targeted respondents were 100 comprising of 15 project managers and 85 project team members. A census of 100 respondents was carried out. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Piloting of research instruments was carried out within the organization involving 10 respondents who were not involved in the final study. Content validity was employed in this study to determine how well the research instruments will measure what they were designed to measure. Cronbach’s alpha method was used to check for the internal consistency of the items in the questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. In order to test the relationship between variables and the extent to which they are influence each other multiple regression analysis was applied. The study concluded that procurement planning increases efficiency and reduces procurement time which enables procurement arrangements to be more appropriate to the contracts being procured, delivering faster processing of activities and more efficient contract implementation. Supplier selection based on quality factors improves quality project implementation in Kenya Ports Authority. contract monitoring and control ensures that products are delivered as and when they are ordered. Procurement activities are assessed continuously to ensure that contracts are honored, and all purchasing processes have been followed. Effective inventory management allows the organization to fulfill orders on time and accurately. The study recommended that during the procurement process the organization should consider procurement objectives, the savings and benefits opportunities and the measures and targets and the approach to risk management. When selecting suppliers the organization should consider their reliability and quality of suppliers which needs to be consistent. The organization should standardize contract creation using a set of terms, conditions, and legal language that applies to a large subset of contracts. The organization should set minimum stock levels for each item that allows it to order new stock in before it runs out, understand its supply chain and minimize shrinkage.