Procurement Contract Formulation and Its Effect on Government-Funded Project Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Makueni County in Kenya

Procurement contract formulation is critical in ensuring the successful implementation of government-funded projects in the public sector. This study sought to determine the relationship between procurement contract formulation and the performance of government-funded projects in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected from a stratified sample of 175 respondents using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics revealed that most respondents strongly agreed that essential components such as special conditions of contract, requirement schedules, and contract agreement forms were consistently applied, with a high overall mean score of 4.48 (SD = 0.690), indicating effective and frequent use of contract formulation practices. Inferential regression analysis showed that procurement contract formulation had a statistically significant and positive effect on project performance (β = 0.478, p < 0.001), with an R² value of 0.351, indicating that improvements in contract formulation could explain 35.1% of the variance in project performance. Enhancing procurement contract formulation, thus, significantly contributes to effectively delivering government-funded projects in public secondary schools. Furthermore, the study recommends the need for capacity building of relevant parties on contract formulation procedures for improved outcomes