Procurement Auditing and Service Delivery in Local Governments in Uganda: The case of Mukono Local Government

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the extent to which public procurement auditing influences service delivery in local governments of Uganda. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which bid preparatory process auditing, contract execution auditing and contract completion auditing influences service delivery in Mukono local government. The study used a case study design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches on a population comprising of district officials and contractors in Mukono District Local Government. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview guide. The study found out that bid preparatory audits significantly influenced service delivery (Adjusted R2=315, p =0.000). The study also found out that contract performance auditing adversely affected service delivery in the local government (Adjusted R2=409, p =0.000) while contract completion auditing affected service delivery in the local government (Adjusted R2=0.252, p =0.000). The study concluded that bid preparatory process auditing significantly influences service delivery in local governments while contract execution auditing significantly influences service delivery in local governments. Contract completion auditing significantly influences service delivery in local governments. The study recommended that to enhance service delivery in local governments of Uganda, the PPDA Authority, MoLG, OAG, in liaison with the local government internal audit function should coordinate their activities through joint work plans to audit procurement planning and bid management processes. This should be complemented with demand for contract managers to perform prompt value for money audits and vendor ratings for all completed contracts and submitting reports to the different local government procurement stakeholders. Training of stakeholders in procurement audits was equally recommended.