EFFECTS OF PROCUREMENT PROCESS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF WATER CORPORATION IN AKURE, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

The public procurement sector has conventionally been identified as highly susceptible to corruption within government, primarily due to its extensive scope, intricate nature, and substantial financial transactions involved. This study aims to assess the effect of procurement processes on the performance of Water Corporation in Akure, Ondo State. The study focused on procurement planning, procurement monitoring and procurement controlling as procurement process. A survey research design which involve the use of structured questionnaire was used to collect data; with a participant pool comprising 42 individuals including procurement officers, middle level managers, supervisors, and departmental heads employed at the Water Corporation in the study area. The study employed census sampling technique. The data collected were analysed using multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that procurement monitoring and procurement controlling have insignificant positive effects on performance of Water Corporation while procurement planning has significant positive effect on performance of Water Corporation. The study revealed that procurement planning is the sole process that have significant effect on the performance of the Water Corporation in the study area. This implies that organizations that have effective procurement planning process in place are likely to achieve better performance outcomes compared to those that do not prioritize procurement planning. This underscores the critical role of procurement planning in enhancing water corporation performance. The study concludes that procurement planning prerequisites hold significant importance for the performance of the Water Corporation in the study area. Hence, this study recommends that the tendering process, encompassing planning, monitoring, and control, should be transparent, irrespective of the scale of goods and/or services intended for procurement. Also, Water Corporation should assess the strengths and weaknesses of potential suppliers and service providers comprehensively, appraise their experience and ability, so as to enhance prompt delivery of procured goods and services with minimal defects.