Procurement Planning and Value for Money in Local Governments in Uganda: A Case of Apac District Local Government

Abstract

Background: Local Governments in Uganda currently face significant challenges in procurement and value for money due to improper procurement planning. The contribution of procurement planning in attaining value for money at both central and local government levels is undisputable in local governments in Uganda. The main purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between procurement planning and value for money in Apac District Local Government. Specifically, the study looked at the specific objectives; to analyse the relationship between procurement methods and value for money, assess the relationship between procurement scheduling and value for money and to examine the relationship between procurement specification and value for money. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional study design. The sample size was 80 respondents. Data collection tools were questionnaire and interview guide and analysis was done using correlation analysis with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 23. In the process, collected data was cleaned, sorted and entered in to data matrix before being exported to the SPSS. Descriptive statistics and measures of association were used to examine the relationship between the procurement planning and value for money. Findings: The result of the analysis indicated that; procurement method had a positive significant result with value for money (r=0.715, p<0.05), procurement scheduling had a positive significant relationship with value for money (r=0.0516, p<0.05) and finally procurement specification also had a positive significant relationship with value for money (r=0.588, p<0.05). Conclusion: overall, it is conclusive that procurement planning has a bearing on value for money and is a very important component in the procurement process in any procuring entity. The results were compared to other similar international research findings, and were found to be agreeing in many aspects. Recommendations: It is therefore recommended that management, policy makers and procuring entities pay particular attention to procurement planning for meaningful procurement and future researches to be conducted on other components of procurement planning in relation to value for money. Keywords: Procurement Planning, Value for Money, Procurement Specification, Procurement Method and Procurement Scheduling