Thesis:

Ethical procurement and performance of Wajir county government in Kenya

The significance of procurement ethics is increasingly recognized, paralleling advancements in technology and shifts in consumer perspectives, as nations endeavor to enhance their public service delivery. Conversely, information technology has been heralded as a facilitator of ethical procurement within county governments, as it fosters transparency and diminishes expenses through streamlined procurement processes. Notwithstanding these efforts, unethical practices continue to proliferate within the procurement process, particularly in developing nations. The research aimed to elucidate the connection between ethical procurement practices and the performance of devolved systems of governance in Kenya, with a particular focus on the Wajir County government. A detailed enumeration of all 141 supply chain management officers working for the Wajir county government was carried out as part of the research. An explanatory design was utilized for the research, and the data was collected through the use of a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered online. For the purpose of determining the validity and reliability of the research tools, a pilot study was carried out through the participation of fifteen respondents. For the purpose of determining reliability, Cronbach's alpha was utilized. The four variables displayed a Cronbach alpha coefficient that ranged from 0.893 to 0.987, which indicated that the research instrument exhibited a good level of dependability with regard to the data collected. The data that was generated was entered and analyzed with great care using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24, which resulted in information that was communicated through the use of charts, frequencies, and percentages. Eighty-four percent of people participated in the study. The analysis of the correlation coefficients revealed that the most significant association exists between adherence to regulations and procurement performance (r=0.676). This relationship was found to be statistically significant at the 5% level (p=0.000,01 <0.05). One of the most notable contributions among the independent variables is the fact that compliance with laws leads to a 0.215 percentage point rise in the procurement performance of decentralized systems of government. In order to ensure that they are in conformity with public finance legislation, the decentralized governmental structures have implemented ethical codes and carried out audits, both internal and external, to ensure that procurement procedures are being strictly followed. In addition, all of the individuals who participated in the procurement activities were provided with periodic training in order to ensure that they were completely conversant with the pertinent rules and regulations that govern procurement. As a result, the adoption of ethical procurement was increased, which ultimately led to an improvement in the performance of procurement measures. Due to the fact that the relevant part was not fully occupied, the inquiry did not provide any conclusions addressing the moderating influence of information technology. In conclusion, the findings of the research indicate that decentralized governmental institutions should use ethical procurement procedures in order to improve their performance in the procurement process. Additionally, additional investigations ought to be carried out at a variety of establishments in order to determine whether or not comparable results may be accomplished.