| dc.description.abstract | The public construction works in Uganda are procured basing on the evaluation methodology and
criteria in the Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) issued by the Public Procurement and Disposal
of Public Assets Authority. The expectation from the use of these criteria is the selection of the
most qualified and competent contractors to successfully execute the construction works.
However, there are concerns about the Procurement Evaluation Criteria (PEC) as most of these
construction projects are not delivered to the clients’ expectations. This study investigates the
predictive power of the procurement evaluation criteria on the performance of contractors on
public building projects in Uganda.
The study combines both quantitative survey data from questionnaires administered to
construction consultants, and qualitative interview discussions with procurement officers. A
combination of stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques were employed in
selecting respondents. A total of 193 consultants answered questionnaires, and 5 procurement
officers participated in the interview discussions. Mean scores, standard deviations, percentages,
frequencies and thematic analyses were used to analyse the data.
The study findings reveal that procurement evaluation criteria used to assess contractors on public
building projects are financial soundness, technical ability, health and safety, reputation and legal
requirements and play a crucial role in predicting contractor performance. The findings indicate
that the PEC, to a notable extent, effectively predict contractor performance. However, there are
evident areas where enhancement is needed to further optimize the effectiveness of these criteria.
The study also found out that corruption and political interference are the most prominent concerns
that affect the PEC in predicting contractor performance. Based on the findings, several
recommendations are proposed to enhance the procurement evaluation criteria. These include
development of an online document verification system, standardising consistency in application
of PEC, reviewing and adjusting the weighting systems, broadening the scope of professionals
involved in the procurement evaluation process and enhancing the transparency of evaluation
criteria. By doing so, the procurement process can be strengthened, leading to improved prediction
of contractor performance. | en_US |
