A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Corporate Management (MBA-CM) of Mzumbe University
This study has explored the role of procurement audits in enhancing ethical compliant procurement practices in Tanzania. It was conducted with three objectives; to find out and document on the level and effectiveness of procurement audits in the Tanzanian public institutions; to establish the effect of procurement audit actions against non-compliance and unethical procurement practice in public institutions; to find out the effects of value for money audits on enabling Procuring Entity (PEs) to achieve the best value for money. This study adopted a descriptive case study design.
The study used 10 procuring entities based in Dar es salaam as study cases. A sample of 80 informants comprising of 15 procurement auditors and 45 PEs staff was used. Purposive sampling was used to select ten (10) PEs and in the selection of sixty (60) PEs’ staff and public procurement regulatory authority (PPRA) staff. Data were collected mainly through structured questionnaire and by interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed through content and thematic analysis while quantitative data were analyzed in a descriptive form using statistical package for social science (SPSS) and a simple agreement mean percentage was used to establish statistical associations between variables.
The study findings have indicated a number of effects of procurement audits including an increased number of PEs audited with good performance, increased implementation of audit recommendations and proposed action, early submission of reports, and increased management effectiveness. Moreover, the results show that there had been an increased number of PEs audited with good performance. More impressing the results indicate a general increase in implementation of recommendation and or proposed actions. The result of the study indicates that there are positive implications of value for money (VFM) procurement audits on PEs performance. In Most PEs the VFM audits have enhanced and increased overall best VFM performance in PEs. Regarding the impact of value for money across categories of PEs the analysis revealed a varying pattern of with MDAs PEs achieving more (88%) followed by LGAs (83%) and then by PAs(80%) in 2018.
Based on the study findings, it has been observed that a procurement audit is one of the core function of the PPRA undertaken for the purpose of governmental use. It dictates the role of determining whether procedures, process, documentation for procedures and activities are applied according to the law. This implies that, if procurement audit is done effectively and efficiently it can have a positive effect on enhancing ethical and compliance of procurement practices in Tanzania's public institutions, hence; value for money for public funds.