Contract Managers' Competences, Resource Availability and Perceived Contract Management in Uganda Public Procurement: A Case of Wakiso.
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Date
2025-12-19
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Makerere University Business School
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between contract managers’ competencies, resource availability, and perceived contract management in Uganda’s public procurement, with Wakiso District Local Government as the case. The study was motivated by persistent inefficiencies in contract management across Uganda despite procurement reforms, with Wakiso District identified as a high-risk entity due to limited staff capacity, resource constraints, and weak supervision mechanisms. Guided by the Resource-Based View theory, the study examined how internal capabilities, particularly managerial competencies and resources, act as strategic assets influencing contract outcomes.
The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey using a quantitative approach. The population comprised 130 staff members involved in procurement and contract management, with a sample of 97 determined using the Krejcie and Morgan table. From this target, 81 respondents completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 83.5 percent, which is considered strong for survey-based research. Data were collected using structured self-administered questionnaires, which were tested for validity and reliability. Content validity indices ranged from 0.83 to 0.88, and Cronbach’s Alpha values were between 0.87 and 0.91, confirming that the instrument was both valid and reliable.
The findings showed that contract managers’ competencies had a strong positive relationship with perceived contract management, with ethical competence emerging as the most critical dimension, followed by negotiation and legal knowledge. Risk management competence showed little influence in this context. Resource availability was also positively related to perceived contract management, with technological resources proving most influential, while financial, human, and informational resources showed more moderate effects. Regression analysis indicated that contract managers’ competencies and resource availability together explained 30.1 percent of the variation in perceived contract management, with competencies (β = .385, p = .000) exerting a stronger effect than resources (β = .290, p = .005). These results confirm that both managerial capabilities and adequate resources are important, but their combined effect is what most strongly enhances contract outcomes.
The study recommended structured mentoring programs to strengthen ethical and negotiation skills, legal review arrangements to build legal knowledge in practice, and improved resource coordination mechanisms, including digital systems and integrated planning sessions. These measures are expected to improve transparency, compliance, and efficiency in public procurement at the district level.
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This is a master's thesis.
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Citation
Eulet, S. (2025). Contract Managers' Competences, Resource Availability and Perceived Contract Management in Uganda Public Procurement: A Case of Wakiso. Makerere University Business School.