Project procurement practices and implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya

Abstract

Implementation of solar projects in Kenya and specifically in Marsabit County is faced with delays or terminations before project completion. This according to Carbon Africa is attributed to bad procurement practices. Overcoming the huddles in solar procurement processes and adopting solar technology can be a win-win solution to climate change, job creation, energy reduction gaps and pollution control. It is with this in mind that this study examined the influence of project procurement practices on implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were: To establish the effect of project procurement planning on implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya; To determine the impact of inventory management on implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya; To establish the effectiveness of project contract management on implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya; To find out the level of efficiency on material management on the implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study used the program theory and the theory of constraints for its theoretical foundation. The study design used was a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was managers and staff working on different solar projects within Marsabit County. The unit of analysis was project team (contractors, engineers, project managers, suppliers) comprising of 171 staff of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya distributed as follows: Ambalo-Moyale mini grid(30 staffs), Illaut-Laisamis mini grid(25 staffs), Balesa-North Horr mini grids (30 staffs) Ahadad Solar project(50 staffs) and Arapal solar project(36 staffs). The study used a structured self-administered questionnaire to collect data. The collected data was analyzed through inferential and descriptive statistics. From the analyzed data it was established that there is significant relationship between project procurement planning and inventory management in the implementation of solar projects within Marsabit County. This relates to the program theory. The process of bidding, or stipulations related to qualified project winning and execution processes are like programs or inventory processes explained in the program theory. Further, Contract management and material management positively affect the implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya. This can relate to the theory of constrain that demonstrates the needs and constraints of high-level project management spectrum in contract and material management. The study results based on the multiple linear regression model indicates that there is a positive significant relationship between project procurement planning (β=0.117, p= 0.043), inventory management (β=0.087, p= 0.019), project contract management (β=0.881, p= 0.034) and material management (β=0.015, p= 0.011) and the implementation of solar projects within Marsabit County.The study concluded that project procurement practices affects the implementation of solar projects within Marsabit County. The study recommends that there is need to improve on project procurement planning to enhance implementation of solar projects in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study further recommends that there is need to improve on inventory control in terms of integrated information systems for communication in the projects. The study proposes similar studies in other counties implementing solar projects in Kenya. The proposed counties could be with similar geographical/terrain characteristics like Marsabit County. This can be counties located in Arid and semi-arid parts of the Country.