Factors influencing youth access to public procurement opportunities in the government ministries in Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to establish the extent of the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities in government ministries in Kenya; the factors that influences the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities and the relationship between the factors identified and the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities. A total of 18 questionnaires were administered and the study managed to obtain 15 completed questionnaires representing 83.33% response rate. The questionnaires contained questions that addressed the objectives of the study. The collected data was edited and cleaned for completeness in preparation for coding. Once coded, the data was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data. Factor analysis was used to identify the factors influencing youth access to government procurement opportunities. Regression analysis was used to test the relationship between the factors and uptake of procurement opportunities by the youth. Goodness of fit of the regression model was tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA). On the extent of the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities in government ministries in Kenya, the study concludes that the youths‟ uptake government procurement opportunities in government ministries in Kenya are to a large extent. On the factors that influence the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities, the study concludes that Access to information, Access to Finance, Legal Framework and Ethics in Procurement are the key underlying factors that influence youth‟s uptake government procurement opportunities in government ministries in Kenya. In regard to the relationship between the underlying factors identified and the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities, the study concludes that there is a strong and positive relationship between the factors identified and the youth‟s uptake of government procurement opportunities in government ministries in Kenya. The underlying factors accounts for or explains 81% of the total variance in uptake of procurement opportunities by the youth. This study recommends that the government should continuously train the youths on how to exploit the procurement opportunities set aside for them by the state and that the government should come up with regulations to ensure the youth can access finance, information and fairness. The greatest limitation faced by the researcher was that most of the respondents approached were reluctant in giving some information fearing that the information sought would be used to intimidate them or create a negative image of the ministries they work for. The researcher handled the problem carrying an introduction letter from the University so as to assure them that the information would be treated with utmost confidentiality and would be used purely for academic purposes. The respondents in the government ministries had busy working schedules which delayed the completion of the data collection process. The researcher handled the limitations by exercising utmost patience and makes extra effort in reminding contact people and making constant followups so as to acquire sufficient data about uptake of government procurement opportunities in government ministries. On suggestions for further research, a research into the uptake of government procurement opportunities by the youth in other government institutions should be explored.