Procurement Process and Financial Performance in Public Universities, Kenya

The poor financial performance of Kenya's public institutions has resulted in campus closures and an ever-increasing backlog of unpaid debts for a number of years. The academic institutions have encountered difficulties in recruiting sufficient faculty members to meet the demands of the curricula. The study aimed to establish the relationship between the procurement process and the financial performance of Public Universities in Kenya. The study adopted a correlational research design, and the target population was the public universities in Kenya with a purposive sample of 155 managers selected from three categories of universities according to their age and when they were chartered. The primary data was collected using questionnaires, and secondary data was collected using an Excel schedule and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The correlation findings indicated that the procurement process had a positive and significant relationship with financial performance (r = .674, p = .000<.05). The R-square value of 0.454 indicates that the procurement process explains 45.4% of variations in the financial performance of public universities. Regression results revealed that the procurement process had a positive and significant influence on financial performance (β = 0.589, p=.000<.05), and this implies that the procurement process significantly enhances the financial performance of public universities in Kenya. The study concluded that the procurement process contributes significantly to the enhanced financial performance of public universities. The study recommended that the management of public universities should strengthen aspects relating to the procurement process. There is a need to ensure that the quality of goods and services purchased is up to standard. There should be inspection and verification of goods and services. There is also a need to involve experts in the evaluation and awards of tenders.