dc.description.abstract | Ethical paucity augmented by "self' propagating culture have been found to
be major challenges in the Kenyan business fraternity. The researcher has
endeavored to establish the extent of the problem by studying tendering
processes for the central government and a selected quasi-government
institution.
Four (4) data collection methods namely document reviews, personal
interviews, review of internet sites, and administration of questionnaire have
been applied in the methodology. Further confirmations have been made
through review of print media reports. The questionnaire has been
significantly applied to further analyze the identified factors through
decomposition of a factor into sub-items and computing the probability (p)
values of each sub-item. Attempt has been made to deduce the cause of the
problem through further analysis of items such as inadequate legal and
superstructures, lack of use of contemporary technology like e-procurement,
and powerful influence. The major question posed is whether adopting
e-procurement in isolation could to bring about transparency in public
procurement.
From the results, challenges facing the Kenyan society have been analyzed
in view of the procurement problem in the public institutions. Approaches in
other countries indicate that e-procurement is a relatively new phenomenon
and most countries, are at the stage of developing their policies. However,
further findings reveal that Chile has successfully applied e-procurement to
mitigate graft. The results reveal that while meaningful procurement reforms
require speed in delivery, storage volume, information manipulation and
networking, change of attitude, formulation, and implementation of policy
framework that also support e-procurement structures precede any other
work endeavoring to adopt contemporary .tool to mitigate graft in
procurement. The research concludes that use of e-procurement could not be justified, as
immediate solution to < the problem. Formation of strong professional
associations with binding code of ethics with stringent penalties and creation
of strong ethics management committees with adequate hotline tools within
the public sector agencies is recommended, A legal framework engraved in
an Act of parliament should support this. Development of human resource is
part of the immediate solution to the problem. | en |