Effects of Public Sector Procurement Practices on Project Performance in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

One of the important reasons why public entities embark on procurement is to exploit the developmental gains that can be derived from such procurements. In order to ensure that this goal is achieved, many entities worldwide put in place enacted procurement guidelines for professionals. The Ondo State government as a procurement entity is yet to do this, instead, it carries out procurement under a regime of multiplicities of ad hoc procurement practices, among which the traditional procurement method predominates. One therefore wonders whetherthe 62 construction procurements executed under the various procurement practices between 2010 and 2015, in the state have turned in good performance outcomes. Of the 62 construction projects procured, 54 were selected for the study. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select procurement professionals who were involved in the 54 projects. Structured questionnaires were administered to these respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data collected. The chi-square test of association results showed that the projects procured by the state government during the studied period experienced cost and time overruns and abandonment. The logistic regression of the 10 identified performance variables on performance showed that 8 out of the 10 variables positively influenced performance. The study therefore recommended that the Ondo State government should formulate and enact a procurement policy. The enacted policy should have enshrined in it the 8 empirically-identified pro-performance variables so that the human development index of the state can improve significantly.

Keywords: Construction Projects, Performance Variables, Procurement Policy, Performance and Development.