Procurement practices and procurement performance of statutory authorities in Uganda: A case of Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA)

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the relationship between procurement practices and procurement performance in Uganda National Roads Authority. The study was specifically guided by the following objectives: to examine the relationship between contract awarding, contract administration, contract execution and procurement performance of Uganda National Roads Authority. The study used a cross sectional design while using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study population consisted of 139 participants. A sample size of 90 respondents was selected using simple and purposive sampling techniques. Quantitative data analysis mainly consisted of descriptive statistics (percentages, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation and regression). Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. It was revealed that there is a significant relationship between contract awarding (Pearson Correlation Coefficient value was 0.600) and procurement performance of UNRA; contract administration (Pearson Correlation Coefficient value was 0.567). On the third objective, it was found out that there is also significant relationship between contract execution and procurement performance of UNRA (Pearson Correlation Coefficient value was 0.593). It was concluded that contract management variables positively influenced procurement performance of UNRA. Thus, the researcher recommends that for purposes of improving procurement practices and procurement performance, UNRA needs to ensure that it undertakes enough market survey before contracts are awarded.