FACTORS AFFECTING EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES IN GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS IN KENYA: A CASE OF NATIONAL GENDER AND EQUALITY COMMISSION

Abstract

Sustainable procurement is about socially and ethically responsible purchasing, minimizing environmental impact through the supply chain, delivering economically sound solutions and good business practice. In the Kenyan public sector the adoption of sustainable procurement practices has been a slow process. The study aimed at identifying factors affecting effective implementation of sustainable procurement practices in government parastatals in Kenya; case of National Gender and Equality Commission. Specifically the study aimed at evaluating how organizational structure, organizational resource capacity, legal and regulatory framework, cost of sustained products affects effective implementation of sustainable procurement practices in government parastatals in Kenya. Information on previous research and the underpinning theories including systems theory, resource based view, transactional cost theory and institutional theory were clustered into themes that frame the subject of the study. The researcher conducted the study using a case study of National Gender and Equity Commission, where descriptive data research method was used with a target population comprising of 81 employees and a sample of 44 respondents from within each group in proportion that each group bear to the population as a whole was taken using Slovin's formula: n=N/ (1+Ne²). The research utilized primary data that was obtained using structured and semi structured questionnaires which were administered to all NGEC employees. Data was analyzed through quantitative techniques such as mean, percentages, standard deviation and variance, the research used statistical package for sciences (SPSS 19) for analysis. Data was then presented in form of tables for ease of interpretation, final reports was compiled after subjecting data thorough analysis. The study revealed that the organizational structure, organizational resource capacity, legal and regulatory framework and cost of sustained products affected effective implementation of sustainable procurement practices. The study recommends that the government needs to enact environmental legislations and policies that promote sustainable procurement and those that already have such policies need to be reviewed and revised to integrate sustainable procurement issues and other sustainability issues. Findings of the study intends to assist procuring entities to ensure successful implementation of sustainable procurement practices, also used by Public Procurement Oversight Authority and the Kenyan government in initiating regulatory framework that will be instrumental in the implementation of public procurement policies